Perhaps she’d been wrong. If Fergus Ariss had been in there alone, there was no evidence that he was Elspeth’s abductor and Angela’s killer. Still, she thought, it was worth waiting and taking a look. She had a pretty accurate image in her head from Meggy’s abduction. Almost skeletal had been the witness’ description. If Fergus Ariss looked like that, Connie would know it was him when she saw him.

When the stretcher finally appeared from the rear door of the house, Connie could see virtually nothing of the man on it. Covered in a blanket, face obscured entirely with a mask and breathing apparatus, all she could tell was that he was Caucasian with brown hair. It wasn’t as if she could ask to have the mask taken off for a better look. He was loaded into the ambulance.

Police officers were taking over now. The ambulance doors closed, and the cordon was lifted momentarily to allow it out. Connie stood feeling useless, staring into the house, where there may or may not be vital evidence remaining. Baarda would have the authority to take charge. Without him, she was merely a hired-gun psychologist with no licence to act.

‘Excuse me, miss,’ a firefighter called to her. ‘Sorry, but we didn’t find the girl or the lady you were looking for. Got the male out, though.’

‘Fergus Arris, I heard. I don’t suppose you could describe him to me. I mean, if he wasn’t too badly burned or …’

‘Luckily he was up on the top floor, or he wouldn’t have made it. We nearly didn’t hear him, given where he was stuck.’

‘Is the property badly damaged inside?’ she asked.

‘The lower floor’s gutted. That’s where the fire started. There was evidence of the use of accelerants. The next floor up was beginning to burn as we arrived, but we saved some of it. The doorway into the upper flat was blocked, and one door had been broken down with an axe. The man you told us about was in the cavity between the second-floor ceiling and the upper-floor flat. His foot was wedged solid. We had to break through the floorboards above to get him out. Only heard him because he was hammering on the floor.’

‘He’s lucky you got to him in time,’ Connie said.

‘Especially given he doesn’t have the use of his legs,’ the firefighter said. ‘No way he’d have survived if we hadn’t got there as soon as we did.’

Connie’s stomach clenched. She reached out and took the firefighter by the arm.

‘I thought you said it was Fergus Ariss, the homeowner.’

‘No, you said that. We didn’t get a name. White male, approximately thirty years of age. He was barely conscious by the time we got him out. Carbon monoxide poisoning and probable thermal damage to his lungs from inhaling hot smoke.’