James nodded. ‘I’d also like to find out if he can tell us anything about Kenneth O’Connor and Dean Foreman. And I’m curious to know if he’s aware that William Nash was still pining for Charlotte. We need more clarity right now. We’ve got four suspects but not nearly enough concrete evidence.’

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

There was a real buzz at the station when they arrived.

Finding Neil Savage had boosted morale and encouraged the team to believe that the investigation was gaining momentum.

Reporters had already begun calling the press office to find out if the story of Savage’s discovery was true.

‘This will relieve the pressure on us from upstairs,’ DCI Tanner said. ‘I’ll come and do the interview with you. Together we can hopefully get a confession out of the bastard so we can close the case.’

‘I’m not sure it’s going to be as simple as that, sir,’ James replied.

Tanner sat back in his office chair and removed his reading glasses. ‘Well let’s just look at what we’ve got. The lad was there at the farm on Christmas Eve. He’s confirmed that himself. We know that Charlotte confronted him about cheating on her after she received a phone call from her friend. She threw him out and he drove off. He was then in a collision with another vehicle near the farm. But we can’t be sure that he didn’t go back to the farm after Charlotte sent him the message telling him their relationship was over.’

‘That’s about the size of it,’ James said. ‘It’s quite possible that he did go back, given that he’d been drinking and probably taking drugs as well so was likely feeling quite emotional and reckless. And let’s not forget that he has form for assault and possession.’

‘And we still don’t know where he stayed that night.’

‘I haven’t asked him that yet. But we know that he didn’t turn up at his flat until Christmas Day. And that’s when he ripped up the photos of Charlotte along with the card that she’d given him.’

James then gave Tanner a detailed account of what they’d found at Bash Barn and what Savage’s pals had said about him.

After that he checked with DS Stevens to see if Savage had been processed.

‘He’s in a holding cell, guv,’ Stevens said. ‘We’ve got his prints and taken a DNA swab. We’ve also heard from a firm of solicitors who’ve been retained by his mother. They’re sending someone over now.’

While waiting to crack on with the interview, James updated the team and issued some new instructions.

He also asked DC Abbott to continue questioning Kenneth O’Connor, who was still being held.