‘I don’t know. I’ve got to find somewhere to stay tonight, then go and see Finn in the hospital.’ He pauses. ‘You okay?’

‘Yes, of course,’ she says, but her voice sounds squeaky and forced. ‘I hope Finn’s all right.’

‘Yeah, me too. I’ll call you later,’ he finishes, then hangs up.

‘Josh has confirmed Connor’s story,’ Mina says as they get in the car. ‘CCTV from Riverside has him leaving at 21:04.’

‘That’s something, at least.’

Freya puts the phone in her pocket and notices Mina staring at her.

‘You two always speak when Robin’s on holiday?’ Mina asks.

‘I was worried about Finn.’

‘Hmm,’ Mina replies, but doesn’t say any more on the subject.

Josh wants them to check in with the uniforms doing the house-to-house, so they pull into the main railway station car park on the way back – the one with full-sized trains. Two uniforms are there, half-heartedly canvassing staff.

Freya recognises one from her days on Response and Patrol.

‘West,’ PC Uberti nods to her. ‘Look at you, all out of uniform. Getting us to do your grunt work.’

Freya ignores the jibe. ‘Anything of interest?’ she asks, and Uberti shakes his head. ‘Nothing. The place was deserted last night; most went home early because none of the trains were running in the storm. You might want to speak to the station manager, though. When we showed him a picture of the vic, he got a bit cagey. Perhaps a prodding from you highly trained detectives might shake something loose.’

Freya gives him a sarcastic look in return, then catches Mina’s eye and indicates the main office. They go over and knock at the door.

It is opened by a short man in an ill-fitting polyester suit. His name badge tells Freya that he’s called Norman, and from the look on his face, he is not pleased to see them.

‘I’ve spoken to your colleagues,’ he says, when Freya and Mina show their ID. ‘This bloody storm has caused a nightmare on the rails. I have a hundred things to do.’

‘They mentioned you saw our victim last night?’

‘Briefly. He was always hanging around. Homeless. Begging, and suchlike. Leaving his sleeping bag and shit in the doorway. Threw it out three days ago.’

‘You threw away his belongings?’ Mina says.

‘He’d left it there, stinking up the place, so yes, I binned it.’

Mina exchanges a look with Freya. ‘And do you know anything about him? His name, for instance?’

‘We’ve never chatted,’ Norman says, a disgusted look on his face. ‘Don’t you keep records on this stuff? I called the police about a fortnight ago. You guys moved him on.’

‘We’ll follow it up,’ Mina replies, coldly. ‘Can we see your CCTV?’