‘Look, Katie, have another few days off. I’ll speak to Flowers for you. You’re a good policewoman and I know he doesn’t want to lose you. Now this Ripper thing is over, I think we can all relax.’

Kate said goodbye and hung up.

She felt such a blasted fool. She had accused Patrick Kelly of trying to murder the man. She had gone to his house and shouted her mouth off. She could hear everything she’d said and her face burned with humiliation.

He must feel disgusted with her. And who in their right mind could blame him?

She put her head against the coolness of the wall and sighed. Everything had gone wrong and it had been her fault. She was suspended from work, but more importantly to her she had botched up the only chance of real happiness she’d had.

As Patrick would say, she was a 24-carat fool.

Her mind was filled with thoughts of the nights she had spent with him. The excitement. The closeness. The shared love.

He had told her he loved her, and how had she repaid him?

Patrick took the call at seven fifteen.

Willy watched him exclaim: ‘You’re joking!’

O’Grady’s voice crackled over the line.

‘No, Pat, it was a classic, I tell you. I waited until I could get the full facts before phoning you. The man picked up a prostitute on the Orange Blossom Trail. That’s Florida’s answer to Soho, you know. Well, it seems things got a bit out of hand and he attacked her. That’s always a whore’s defence, of course: The man attacked me, so I pulled a knife, a gun, whatever.

‘By all accounts she said she never reported it to the police because she knew that they wouldn’t believe her. When it came on CNN today that the man was wanted in England as a serial killer, this place went wild. The woman’s a frigging national heroine, for Chrissakes.’

‘Jesus, I can’t believe what you’re telling me. Markham murdered my daughter. I would have followed him to the ends of the earth. But to have that happen to him . . . I mean, it’s just unbelievable.’

O’Grady’s voice was quiet.

‘Believe it, buddy. He’s dead. Now you just go on living your life. I’ll see that the money’s returned to you tomorrow. I’ve got to give my guy something though. He still trailed him, you know.’

‘Anything you say, Shaun.’

Kelly replaced the receiver and stared at it for a few seconds as if not sure he had really had the call.

He stared at Willy. ‘You’re not going to believe this.’

‘Try me.’

Edith looked down at George’s body and felt the sting of tears.

‘Is this your brother, ma’am?’ The policeman’s voice was low and reassuring.

She nodded.