‘Tell me about it. I’ve been there before, remember? Still, it’s a two-way thing. He’ll be just as worried when I do something equally hare-brained.’

He laughed. ‘Like get on that beast of a bike of yours. That’s dangerous enough.’

‘Excuse me, sir,’ Marie retorted. ‘Shall I quote you the figures on horse-related accidents? Head injuries, spinal cord injuries, crush injuries . . . Do you know that back in 1985, a study was published suggesting that motorcyclists suffered a serious accident once every 7,000 hours, whereas equestrians could expect one every 350 hours! Which, I do believe, makes you a much higher risk than me!’

‘Ah, but consider the health benefits of riding,’ Jackman said.

They both laughed. Bikes and horses weren’t actually so different, if you thought about it. Both had speed, freedom, excitement and fresh air. And for the two of them, best of all was the complete escape from their work.

He winked at her. ‘How about bringing a coffee in with you when you drop off those end-of-day reports? Seeing as how you aren’t in a hurry, we’ll go through everything after the others have gone home.’

‘I’ll do that.’ Marie returned to her desk.

He still worried about her.

* * *

It seemed like no time at all before the lads were clearing their desks ready to leave. Marie gathered every piece of info she could find and knocked on Jackman’s door.

She caught a preoccupied expression on Jackman’s face as she went in, although he quickly assumed a smile. She wondered whether to ask but decided against it. He’d tell her if he wanted to.

‘You don’t have the aspect of someone who’s solved a case, Sergeant Evans,’ he said.

‘Too right, Inspector Jackman. I bloody haven’t.’ She set down their drinks, took a seat and flipped through her notes. ‘Just a few snippets that might interest you.’

‘Enlighten me,’ he said.

‘Well, Jay took a call from Ratty, of all people. He remembered something about the man he saw going through the window that time. He said he was wearing cycling tights — those skintight, shiny jobs that serious cyclists wear.’

‘Sensible of him,’ Jackman said. ‘Wouldn’t snag on anything, and they don’t have the bulk of normal clothing.’

‘He’s treating it like a professional job, isn’t he?’ said Marie. ‘And those clothes belonging to Nan’s husband would have slipped on over them easily.’

‘And they’d make him less likely to attract attention if spotted. Well done, Ratty! That’s a turn-up for the books. He must really be anxious to get this other guy caught.’

‘It’s probably driving him stir crazy having to stay put with Ma. Just in case, we’ve had a couple of officers drop by the park unannounced, and his car hasn’t moved for days. Stacey says he’s shit scared of having a murder added to his record.’ Marie turned a page. ‘Our man at the school gates seems to have gone to ground. He hasn’t been seen for two days. But we do have this.’ She showed him a still from some CCTV footage. ‘Robbie sourced this from the primary school in Seagate Road in Saltern. One of the mothers confirmed it was the man that had been worrying her. It’s not brilliant and not full face either, but it gives us an idea of what he looks like.’