‘I didn’t want to do this. I actually came to talk to you about Tim, though.’

Nick snaps his head up. ‘Oh? That’s a coincidence.’ He immediately brightens.

I’m taken aback. This, I wasn’t expecting. ‘You first, then,’ I say.

‘I always hoped Tim would be found or come home of his own accord, but as the years went on and there was never any sign of either of those things happening, my thoughts turned to darker outcomes. By joining the force, I thought I might somehow be able to finally find out what happened to my big brother. Well, you know all that. So, anyway, this cold case I’m working, the similarities struck me. I felt sure there were links with Tim – they were things I couldn’t ignore.’

‘Yes, you were following that line of thinking when you last spoke to me about it. Have you found something else?’

‘Not found, no.’

I lift my eyebrows. ‘Then what?’

‘Sent.’ Nick gets up and walks into the bedroom. He returns with a plastic container and he stands facing me. ‘The package that came to the house for me … you know, when you had a go at me for not having changed my address?’

‘I didn’t have a go …’

‘Well, anyway, it was this.’

Nick tips the container and something falls into his palm.

He holds up a clear plastic bag. In it, I can make out a silver bracelet.

‘I’m not following, Nick. Can you just spell it out, please?’

‘It’s taken me a while to figure out why this was sent to me – there was no note or anything. Just the bracelet.’

‘Strange.’

‘Not so strange now that I know,’ Nick says. ‘This bracelet is identical to the one in a photograph of the missing girl, Chloe Jenkins, from 1977.’

‘Wow, really? Who sent it?’

‘Someone who knows I’m looking into the case again, I guess.’

‘Shit, Nick. Do you think whoever took the girl, the abductor … murderer, even … could be the one who sent you this?’

‘Admittedly, that was my first thought. But I have a feeling it’s someone who knows who did it, not the perp himself. I might be wrong – but I think they’ve sent this to me because they trust I’ll make the necessary connections.’

‘So, someone who knows your brother also went missing around that time has sent you this?’

‘Yeah. That’s the conclusion I’ve come to.’

‘And you’re thinking whoever took Chloe, also took Tim?’ I realise I’m stating the obvious, but I need to vocalise my internal thoughts to assimilate them.

‘I am. I think they’re both dead, Amber. And one person is responsible for both murders. Maybe even others.’