‘Well, I do feel better for having told someone. But I’ll never forget that boy. If you find out what happened to him, will you let me know?’

‘Of course,’ Jackman said. ‘You take care now.’

Outside, they both stopped and looked at each other.

‘Claire Spiller went one step too far, didn’t she?’ whispered Marie.

‘I’d say so,’ Jackman said. ‘Taking his boy like that pushed him over the edge.’

They climbed back into the car. ‘So, how do you feel about it, Marie?’ Jackman asked.

‘I’ve got mixed feelings,’ she said. ‘Part of me is relieved, because if he did love his boy that much, he probably won’t hurt Davy. But another part is very worried indeed because he’s deranged, and that’s a scary thought. How about you?’

‘Ditto, although I’m leaning towards the scary. Let’s get back and see what’s come in while we were out. I want this guy caught, but we’ll have to be extremely careful how we go about it.’

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

This time she wasn’t on some furtive reconnaissance operation. Laura parked immediately outside the Shields’s house. She and Sam strode up to the front door, rang the bell and waited.

‘I swear he’s in there,’ murmured Laura. There was no movement, nothing to bear this out, but she sensed a presence inside. She rang again. Oh well, maybe she’d been wrong. The place remained silent.

Sam took out his phone and rang Freddie’s home number. They could hear it ringing, but it went unanswered.

‘I’ll try his mobile,’ said Sam.

They listened again, but try as they might, they couldn’t hear a ringtone.

‘He really must be out,’ said Sam. ‘So, what next?’

‘Well, as we are so worried about him, I suggest we ask his mother if he’s okay. Maybe we should just say we’re friends of his. Announcing that we’re his shrinks might give her a heart attack.’

‘Indeed,’ said Sam. ‘What’s her name, by the way?’

‘Catherine. I think he told me at some point that she prefers to be called Cathy.’ She led the way around the side of the house to the annexe.

The moment they saw it close up, all Laura’s fears returned. The windows were grimy, the door and window frames covered with dirt and cobwebs. ‘This is worse than I thought!’ She rang the bell in some trepidation.

They heard it ring inside, but no one came to the door.

Sam rapped hard on the door but to no avail. They looked at each other in consternation.

‘When did Freddie say he spoke to her last?’ Sam asked.