Stacey grinned. ‘It’s not a woman thing, Jay, at least not in this case. It’s instinct, something you learn in the police after years of mixing with liars and villains. You start to read what people are not telling you, rather than what they are. And don’t worry, you’ll pick it up, even if you are a man.’

Jay sighed. ‘Years, eh?’

‘At least ten.’

‘Marvellous. And in the meantime?’

‘In the meantime, we keep a bit of a watchful eye on Annie Carson.’

* * *

Annie watched the car draw away. Another woman, maybe someone she knew. She wouldn’t contact Natalie yet, she’d be in shock. She went to the room she used as her office.

She googled their names, tried Facebook and Instagram, but only came up with one private account and an unidentifiable picture for a Sylvia Wilson. So, having failed to find them online, she turned to good old-fashioned footwork. She decided to start with Fleur Harper, who lived in Cartoft village. Cartoft was small, with no amenities other than a church and a village hall, as far as she could remember. Which meant that the inhabitants all knew each other.

Cartoft was around twenty minutes from Fenton Mere. Now, what to do with Callum? She really didn’t want to leave him home alone, but he was watching a Harry Potter film and would object to being dragged away from it.

Annie went up to his room. Callum paused the film and blinked at her. ‘You all right, Mum?’

She decided it was time to take him into her confidence. ‘Son? Can we have a chat?’

‘Sure.’ He patted his bed.

Annie thought fast. She would make her idea into a sort of game. ‘I’ve been thinking, Callum. We can’t let that horrible man get away with scaring people, can we? He’s a bad person and he has to be stopped. I think we can help the police, but we’ll have to do it in secret. Then, if we find something out, we can tell them, and they’ll be really pleased. What do you think?’

His eyes lit up. ‘You mean like we were secret agents?’

‘Exactly!’ She smiled at him. ‘So, I thought of going to see if we can find some people to help us. Are you up for a ride in the car?’

‘Where to?’

‘Cartoft village.’ She stood up. ‘To find another lady who this man scared. Want to come?’

‘Cool!’

‘But remember, Callum, not a word to the police just yet, or anyone else. I want to find everyone who’s been scared by the bad man.’ She winked at him. ‘Why not get one of your notebooks and write down our findings? You can record times, places, people, just like we’re real detectives.’