‘But that’s precisely my point,’ said Apte, looking at Webb. ‘There’s no reason to suspect we would have to rescind it. We have a chance here to demonstrate to the public that, even when it comes to a decades-old murder, the police in this county are firmly in control. After all the years of scandals and cutbacks, it would send a powerful message.’

‘Which, if Wheeler is ultimately cleared of responsibility, would be in danger of backfiring,’ said Webb. ‘I am of course not here to interfere, but it is my belief that we would all stand to benefit to a far greater degree if, instead of anyone leaping to premature conclusions, the investigation is allowed to run its course.’

He looked at Apte meaningfully, and Apte closed his open mouth. From the expression on the PCC’s face, he was clearly struggling to understand Webb’s reasoning.

Fleet, on the other hand, thought he was starting to.

‘Sir,’ he said, focusing on Superintendent Burton. ‘Given the complexity of the investigation, Nicky and I could really use some extra bodies. The killer already has a twenty-two-year head start on us. With the resources currently at our disposal, we’re going to struggle to catch up.’

Had the circumstances been different, Fleet would have been able to predict precisely how Burton would react. When the superintendent had buried Fleet under a mountain of decades-old mispers, he would have had no expectation that Fleet would actually solve any – and the last thing he would have been prepared to offer was any kind of operational assistance. But the situation had evolved beyond anything either Fleet or Burton could possibly have envisaged. Ben Draper wasn’t just another missing kid. He was a boy whose murderer had escaped justice for more than twenty years, and whose fate could well turn out to be the cause of the biggest celebrity scandal the country had seen since Savile – not to mention political dynamite.

The superintendent looked at Webb. Webb looked down at his phone. It was a signal of some kind, clearly – just as it was suddenly obvious to Fleet that his instincts about Webb’s objective here were right, and that the superintendent had taken the hint, too.

‘I believe you have the resources you need, Detective Inspector,’ Burton said. ‘It is crucial, given the sensitive nature of this investigation, that we proceed as we would in any other comparable situation.’

‘Comparable?’ echoed Fleet. ‘As far as I can see, this case is utterly unique. All I’m asking for is—’

‘We have to be seen to be absolutely fair,’ Burton cut in. ‘You can imagine how the press would spin it if they got wind that extra resources had been pumped into an investigation in which Callum Richardson is a potential suspect. It would be seen as a witch hunt. An attempt on behalf of the government to discredit a political opponent.’