Katie let out a sob. ‘I swear I didn’t know it was stolen. He said he found it on the building site.’ She removed the chain from her neck and handed it to Jane.

Hanging from it was a silver cross measuring about two and a half by one and a half inches with a Sacred Heart engraved on it, along with a small cross and circle of thorns.

Jane removed a small exhibits bag from her pocket and placed the cross and chain in it. ‘Thank you for being honest with me,’ she said.

‘Please don’t tell Barry what I told you,’ Katie said, looking desperate.

Jane sensed fear in her voice and now the dressing gown was loose below the neck, she noticed two large bruises above Katie’s left breast. ‘Did Barry do that to you?’ she asked, pointing to them.

Katie closed the dressing gown. ‘It was an accident . . . he didn’t mean to.’

Jane wasn’t convinced. ‘Have you got any other bruises?’

‘No,’ she replied nervously.

‘Can you show me your arms, please.’

Katie started shaking as she pulled the dressing gown tighter around her body.

‘I’m on your side, Katie. I can help you . . . but I need to know if you have any other injuries.’

Tears began to trickle down Katie’s face as she slowly opened the dressing gown, let it fall open and stood with her hands covering her crotch.

Jane gasped as she saw the extent of bruising on Katie’s arms, legs and stomach. They were clearly the result of punches, grab marks and kicks to her legs, deliberately inflicted in areas where Barry thought other people wouldn’t see them. Katie pulled the dressing gown around her.

‘This is wrong, Katie, so wrong. You can’t let him treat you like a punch bag. If you make a formal allegation of assault against him, he will be charged. I’ll ask the court for him to be remanded in custody pending trial . . .’

‘I can’t . . . it would only make things worse.’

‘What about the children? Has he ever hurt them?’

‘He’d never do that. Barry’s loves his children.’

‘Believe me, as they get older, he will treat them in the same way. You also need to know we believe he forced a coffin open and stole the cross and chain from the body of a dead nun.’

Katie looked horrified and her legs started to buckle. Jane managed to grab her and sit her on the bed before she fell over. The tears rolled down her cheeks.

‘How could he do that then give it to me?’

‘I don’t know. I’ll tell him I saw the cross when you got out of bed; that way, he won’t know about our conversation and take it out on you.’

‘Thank you . . . but he’ll still be angry with me.’

‘Have you thought about leaving him?’

Katie choked back a sob. ‘Is there anywhere you can go?’