Sitting in her car, Sarah sighed in contentment as she unwrapped her Big Mac. She’d promised herself numerous times that she would kick her junk food habit into touch. Seeing Elsie in the obesity clinic yesterday had certainly provided her with enough inspiration to maintain a healthy diet. She had even done an online shop and filled her fridge with healthy food. But that was all well and good as long as she could physically get home to cook it. Today, work had been manic as Sarah spoke to residents of Slayton and chased up every dead-end lead. Her eyes were dry in their sockets from watching hours of CCTV downloaded from cameras in town. No stone was to be left unturned, but much of it felt like a waste of her time. Now it was gone four thirty and she hadn’t eaten all day. She closed her eyes, savouring each bite as the smell of freshly cooked fries filled the interior of her car. The windows steamed around her, cocooning her in her own little world. Tomorrow she would go full kitchen goddess and batch-cook lots of healthy food.

At least her hospital visit had been fruitful in more ways than one. Seeing Elsie so positive about her future had brightened her day. Her thoughts floated to Elliott. Seeing the boy and his mum happy had been heart-warming too. She wanted to be a part of Elliott’s life, not just the police lady who questioned him, but first she had to put things right. The hooded image he’d drawn of the Midnight Man could have come straight out of a comic book. Maybe it was time to just be Elliott’s friend.

She turned down the car radio as a news reporter commented on how little information the police had released. ‘Everyone’s a critic,’ she murmured, sipping her Diet Coke. Social media was flooded with #FindJahmelia, and the private Facebook group had grown. Blackhall Manor had gained a fresh wave of attention and new members were joining from all over the world. Sarah hadn’t felt the need to participate herself yet. She didn’t know where Richie found the time, and she couldn’t fathom his fascination with her family’s history … but there was too much going on right now for her to dwell on the past.

She turned on the ignition and activated the car fan. There wasn’t much left for her to do today apart from see Gabby again. The office dynamics were guaranteed to change now her sergeant was pushed out, which was why Sarah was happy to spend the day out and about. Yvonne would lord it over everyone, as if she was the chief constable instead of acting sergeant. Still, Sarah gave her some grudging respect. She was managing the influx of work with apparent ease. She had the makings of a good sergeant if she wasn’t so bloody obnoxious all the time.