‘We’re still working on it, but Rachel Weston seems to have dropped off the face of the earth after leaving the bail hostel.’

Sasha chewed a nail. ‘I should be there.’

‘If it makes you feel better, DCI Vaughn is drafting in more support over the weekend. We’ll find her, you can be sure of that. There’s one thing you may be interested in – according to background given at her murder trial, she worked at an abattoir.’

He waited till the penny dropped. ‘The cattle prod.’

‘She’d be familiar with it, and comfortable using it, and she would probably know where to get her hands on one.’

‘If you discover anything about her whereabouts, anything at all, let me know, alright?’ In the mirror behind the bar, Sasha saw the guy by the fireplace speak to a waiter and point in her direction, and she felt a frisson of excitement. ‘Not Vaughn, me, got it?’

‘Lesson learned, Mrs Dawson. Is there anything else?’

Sasha wracked her brains and eventually said, ‘Give my love to Scott. I hope you both have a great night.’

‘Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,’ he trilled.

She was putting the phone back in her bag when the waiter placed a fizzing glass of champagne in front of her. ‘I didn’t order this.’

The waiter pointed. ‘Compliments of the gentleman.’

She turned on the stool to look at the man by the fireplace. He was good-looking, lithe and compact, with a shaved head in that Jason Statham way, and he looked very pleased with himself, lifting a hand coolly off the arm of the sofa in a half-wave.

‘Did he now?’

She lifted the glass towards him – Thanks – and he winked: You’re welcome. When she turned back to the bar, determined not to make it easy for him, she sensed the man continue to watch her. Sasha took a deep breath and climbed off the stool as gracefully as she could manage – the stool was tall, and it somehow took a long time for her toes to find the floor – and walked over to him.

‘It’s very nice,’ she said, holding up the glass. ‘Thank you.’

‘There’s plenty more where that came from.’ He grinned and gestured for her to sit opposite. Sasha liked people who smiled. ‘I’d be honoured if you would join me.’

She waggled her fingers on her left hand so that he saw her wedding band. ‘I’m waiting for my husband, who’s stranded in London.’

‘Please, I really need help drinking this. I don’t know what I was thinking, ordering a whole bottle.’ He lifted the champagne from the bucket beside the sofa, and the ice shifted noisily. ‘When your husband arrives, you can completely ignore me and I won’t get the slightest bit offended.’