‘The old man died,’ said Natalie, ‘and his wife went into a home. The house was sold to pay for their expenses. A developer bought it and there’s about six houses there now.’

‘Did Davy ever say anything particular about his friend Dylan?’ asked Max.

Natalie shook her head. ‘Not really. He rarely talked about him at all, just the occasional passing mention — I might ask him what he’d been doing, and he’d say “playing with Dylan.” I think the most he ever said was that Dylan liked what we’d done with the pond. He did say Dylan loved wildlife, which is all I can recall about him really.’

Max wondered if that was why Davy had been taken. Davy had spent time with this lad, and Jordan might have been hoping that Davy would lead him to his lost boy. He glanced at Charlie and closed his notebook. They should get back to the station.

They stood up to leave and thanked the two women for their help.

‘Please find him,’ said Natalie. She had a catch in her voice. ‘He’s such a special boy. I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to him.’

They assured her they would do all they could, though both wondered. Davy was in the hands of a man who had been driven insane by the hurt and pain of not knowing where his son was. He could be capable of anything.

* * *

‘Boss!’

Jackman looked up to see Marie hurrying towards his office. ‘I’ve located an old friend of Jordan Spiller’s. He’s coming in to talk to us now.’

She sounded excited.

‘He worked with Spiller for years, up on the roofs. He knows about his disaster of a marriage, and he says he may have information that no one but him can give us.’

‘Is he a local?’ Jackman asked. ‘How long will it take him to get here?’

‘He’s local, yes. At present, he’s working on the old church at Carrion Fen. He said he’d be here in less than half an hour. His name is Andy Forman. Will you interview him with me?’

‘Try and stop me! If he knows him well, then he might have some idea where he would go.’

‘I hope so too,’ she said. ‘Oh, and from the little he said on the phone, I got the impression he’ll corroborate everything old Elspeth told us. He said he was going to put us right about Jordan’s “wicked bitch of a wife.” His words, by the way.’

‘I never doubted Elspeth, but it’ll be good to hear it from someone else.’ This was what they’d been hoping for, someone who knew the real Spiller. Someone who could give them an idea as to what he intended when he took young Davy Frances from his school.