‘I’d appreciate that,’ James said.

‘It’s already obvious that there’s a lot of public interest in this case. It will stretch our resources and test our resolve but it’ll also give you another chance to prove yourself and gain more kudos.’

James was about to respond when someone tapped on the office door and then pushed it open without being invited to.

It was Detective Constable Ahmed Sharma, one of the newest recruits to the team. He was a thin, wiry man whom James considered a diligent investigator with a sharp eye.

‘I’m really sorry to disturb you both,’ he said. ‘But we’ve had a breakthrough and I thought I should draw it to your attention straight away.’

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

James jumped to his feet and gestured for Sharma to step further into Tanner’s office.

The detective’s use of the word ‘breakthrough’ had sent a ripple of excitement rushing through him. It was what they desperately needed if any significant progress was to be made with the investigation into Rachel Elliott’s murder.

Sharma stood in the middle of the room clutching a notebook, his posture straight and confident.

‘So, what have you got for us, lad?’ Tanner said. ‘Out with it.’

Sharma’s brow creased in concentration as he glanced at his notes before speaking.

‘It’s to do with the boyfriend, Carlo Salvi,’ he said. ‘We believe he’s in London and is due to fly to Italy from Heathrow on a plane that’s scheduled to leave in just over an hour.’

James felt a stab of panic. ‘Jesus, then we need to stop him.’

Sharma nodded. ‘That’s what we’re aiming to do, guv. We’re in contact with the Met and have passed on his name and the flight number, but we wondered if one of you should get in touch with someone higher up the chain of command to make sure they respond without delay.’

‘I’ll get onto that,’ Tanner said. ‘Write down the flight number for me and the name of the person we’re liaising with. Then, while I’m on the blower, you can explain to Detective Inspector Walker how you got us to this point.’

‘Start at the beginning,’ James said as he and Sharma stepped out of Tanner’s office. ‘The last I heard we’d found out where Salvi lived and worked, but his landlady told us he’d moved out suddenly.’

‘We’ve been chasing it throughout the night, guv,’ Sharma said. ‘The landlady didn’t know the registration of Salvi’s car so we had to contact all the hire companies in the area and eventually we got lucky. It’s a firm in Ambleside and it turns out he dropped it off there yesterday afternoon. He then got them to call him a taxi to take him to the nearest railway station, which is the one in Windermere. Uniforms were dispatched to check CCTV there and while they were doing that it occurred to me that he might be heading for Manchester Airport, from which there are regular flights to Italy.