He avoided holding the bannister and took the wall side, taking the steps two or three at a time, carefully testing each with his weight before moving on up. Connie knew she had to phone Xavier’s whereabouts through to Baarda. There were family members waiting for news, even if that meant waiting to see if Xavier survived the smoke inhalation or not. But this was the priority for the next five minutes. Somewhere inside the building might be the charred remains of other bodies. She needed answers.

At the top of the stairs, the firefighter put his head into another room. That was a bathroom. There was nothing other than the usual hygiene equipment and detritus. Nothing Connie could identify as specifically feminine.

‘Carry on,’ she instructed.

‘There’s a study ahead of us,’ he said. ‘I’ll see what I can find.’

The study was less fire damaged, but the desk drawers were locked.

‘Can you break into them?’ Connie asked.

‘I’m afraid not. That would be a police matter with a warrant. There’s an old computer at the back here, but it’s not switched on, and I can’t do anything with it until power’s restored.’

‘All right,’ Connie sighed. ‘Carry on.’

Entering the largest room on that floor, he directed his head-beam to the ceiling. ‘That’s where we found the trapped male, between those plasterboards and the floor above.’

‘I can’t believe he survived,’ Connie said. ‘Did you make that hole in the ceiling?’

‘No, that was already there. Must be how he got into the space in the first place. We broke through some other boards in the corner of the living room in the flat above.’

Connie peered closer into the screen. There was little to see except a greying ceiling and a black hole, but the idea that any human being could be so desperate as to crawl into the space between floorboards and the ceiling directly below, knowing they might never make it out alive, was beyond comprehension. The fact that such claustrophobic horror could have been preferable to whatever awaited him in the open space was devastating.

Pulling out her mobile, she began texting Baarda as she watched the progress of the camera around the room.

‘Xavier unconscious & in ambulance. Fire out but building badly damaged. No sign of E or M. Call asap.’

There was a bed in one corner, with old blankets on it. No warm duvet or touches of comfort. A single bed, too. It was a big bedroom for a single bed. With it came the idea that the inhabitant had long since given up on the idea of sharing his house with anyone in the traditional sense.

‘Could you open the drawers and wardrobe for me, please?’ Connie asked.

The head-beam swung around towards the largest item of furniture, and distant faces flew in and out of view.

‘Hold on. Go back.’

The firefighter retraced his line of vision.