Mercifully, the hospital car park is quiet, but it’s too early for visiting hours. I stop in reception to find out which ward Elise is in and as I start walking in that direction, my phone buzzes. It’s the DI. I know I should answer it, but I let it go to voicemail instead.

Elise is in a small room with two other women. Her back is to me as I walk towards her bed and I pause a few steps away. ‘Elise?’

I watch her shoulders stiffen, and as she turns I see the full extent of her injuries. Her face is red, bruised, and bloody; one of her eyes swollen, half-closed.

‘Oh, God …’ I’m horrified. Going closer, I pull a chair up. ‘What happened?’

‘I fell.’ She mutters the words and her eyes turn away from me.

It’s impossible to believe that her injuries came from a fall. It looks as though she’s been punched in the face, and definitely more than once. Wondering where else she’s been hit, I don’t say anything for a moment. ‘Elise?’ Leaning towards her, I speak gently. ‘Did Andrew do this to you?’

I watch shock wash across her face as she looks at me, her eyes filled with fear. ‘No. You mustn’t say that. He’ll kill me.’

As I look at her, memories are dredged up from a past I’d rather forget; memories of a time when I lived in fear, when I wanted to die rather than face another day with the man who abused me. ‘I know,’ I tell her softly. ‘I know what it’s like to be where you are. It happened to me, too. You can’t stay, Elise. You have to leave him.’

As her eyes meet mine, they’re filled with pain. Then, as her head rolls sideways, she utters one word. ‘Niamh.’

In that instant, I understand what’s happening. She believes she’s protecting her daughter.

‘You’re frightened about what will happen to Niamh if you leave?’ When she nods, I go on. ‘We can find you somewhere safe, where Andrew won’t be able to get to either of you. Think about it …’ I pause. ‘Was this why you tried to call me?’ I ask. But as I speak, her eyes widen as they stare past me.

‘Go,’ she whispers, desperation written across her face. ‘Please …’

Turning around, I see the cause of her fear.

‘Good morning, Detective Sergeant. How unexpected.’ Standing just a few feet away, Andrew Buckley speaks with cold calm.