‘I’m really very sorry, Mr Kelly. I can assure you that we shall do all that we can to find the man responsible.’

Her gentle voice broke in on him. He looked at her with red-rimmed eyes.

‘She was only twenty-two, just a baby. Just a kid, that’s all. I’d bought her a shop, you know.’ His voice caught and he sniffed loudly. ‘A lovely little shop. She would have done well and all, she wasn’t a silly girl. She had a good brain, did my Mandy.’ He bit his lip hard. ‘What will I do without her?’ The plaintive note in his voice went straight to Kate’s heart.

‘She was all I had.’

Kate put her arm around his shoulders and he cried into her jacket. She stroked his hair. Patrick Kelly was a Repoman. The best in the business, it was said. He would repossess anything, from a car, to a crane, to a large yacht. He had been nicknamed ‘The Snatchman’ by friends and enemies alike. That his business was not strictly legal Kate was aware, he owned sex shops, massage parlours and many other businesses. Yet, as he was now, broken hearted, Kate felt an enormous affection for him. Whatever he may be, he had been a loving father and husband and at this moment in time, Kate envied his wife the love he had borne her.

‘Come on, Mr Kelly, let’s get you home, shall we? There’s nothing you can do here now.’

She pulled him away from his daughter’s body. As he let go of Mandy he slipped his arm around Kate’s waist and she held him tightly while he cried, his shoulders heaving beneath his expensive crumpled suit.

When he was spent she walked him from the room, motioning with her head to DS Willis, who had met her at the hospital, to finish off there. She would take Patrick Kelly home.

Willis watched her leave and felt a spark of respect for his boss. Patrick Kelly was notorious, a villain and a thug, yet DI Kate Burrows had him eating out of her hand. One of the advantages of being a female, he supposed.

Outside the hospital, Kelly’s driver was waiting for him in his Rolls-Royce Corniche. Kate helped Patrick into the back, relieved that she did not have to drive him home. As she went to shut the door, his voice stayed her.

‘Please, come home with me . . . I need to talk to someone.’

His voice was wretched, and Kate hesitated only a moment before climbing into the car beside him. Maybe he would inadvertently give her some clues. People often did, without even realising that what they said had a bearing on the case in hand.