After disconnecting the call, James went to Tanner’s office and showed him the photos he’d taken on his phone of the baby’s skeletal remains.

‘Giles Keegan believes the cellar was subjected to a rigorous forensic sweep after the bodies of Mr and Mrs Roth were found,’ he said. ‘But we can’t be certain that it was thorough enough and so have to entertain the possibility that they simply failed to find the baby’s body beneath the floorboards.’

Tanner gave a thoughtful nod. ‘On the other hand, it’s also possible the baby was killed at a later date and then hidden there.’

James shrugged. ‘That’s what Tony thinks, but then where would she have been when her parents died and why the hell didn’t her killer bury her in a place where she’d be unlikely ever to be found?’

The office was packed to the rafters with detectives and support staff for the end-of-day debrief.

There was a lot to get through and James kicked off with the latest shocking discovery at Oaktree Farm.

No one quite knew what to make of it, or how it impacted on the case they were working on, but it fed into the general disquiet that was growing within the team. Like last year’s serial killer case, disbelief and confusion added to the pressure on everyone.

James summed up where they were with the investigation and outlined a plan of action for the following day.

‘We have four suspects in custody,’ he said. ‘Dean and Linda Foreman, Neil Savage and Kenneth O’Connor. The Foremans will be held overnight and I intend to interview them again tomorrow. We therefore need to make them aware of that along with their lawyer. Now what’s the situation with the other two?’

‘Neil Savage hasn’t yet been charged with any drug offences because there was some confusion over exactly what he had in his possession when he was collared at Bash Barn with his mates. There was so much lying around that uniform still haven’t worked out who owns what,’ DS Stevens said. ‘We’re leaving them to sort it out while we hold onto him.’

‘And where are we with the alibi his pal Craig Lawrence gave him?’

‘They’re both sticking to it. We’ve searched Lawrence’s house and found nothing, and I spoke to his father an hour ago. He and his wife are on a Christmas break in Jersey. They knew nothing about the bender at the barn but did know that their son was into drugs. They say he’s never been in trouble with the police before and I can confirm he’s not on the database. They’re returning home to Kirkby Abbey tomorrow.’

‘And what about Kenneth O’Connor?’

‘No change there, guv,’ Stevens said. ‘We’re holding onto him and he’s got the assault charge hanging over his head.’