‘My parents live down the road,’ she managed to say. ‘I’m sure they’ll take us in until I can find somewhere else.’

‘Will you be safe there?’

‘I don’t know for sure, but it’s the only place I have to go.’

‘Barry will be taken to the station for interview. It will give you time to pack some belongings for yourself and the children.’

‘How long can you hold him?’ Katie asked, pulling a small suitcase out from under the bed.

‘Depends on whether or not he admits to stealing the cross, but at least eight to twelve hours. That should give you plenty of time to get out of here. If you want to press charges about the assaults . . .’

‘Let me think about it.’

Jane didn’t want to force her. She got a pen from her pocket and picked up a piece of scrap paper from the dressing table. ‘I’ll give you my details. Ring me and let me know you’re OK. If you change your mind and want to press charges, I will personally arrest him and deal with the case.’

‘Thank you.’

‘You know where I am if you need me. There’s one other thing. Did Barry say if he found anything else yesterday?’ Jane asked, thinking about the missing knife.

‘No. He only mentioned the cross.’

Barry was sitting back in the armchair yawning as he watched Boon and the crime squad officers search the living room.

‘We haven’t found anything, sarge,’ Boon said as Jane walked in.

‘I said you wankers were wasting your time,’ Barry sneered.

Jane removed the cross from her pocket and briefly held it out for Barry to see.

‘As luck would have it, I just found this around your wife’s neck.’ She put it back in her pocket.

Barry shrugged. ‘So what, lots of women wear a cross . . . not just nuns.’

‘I asked her where she got it. The strange thing is, she didn’t want to tell me. Did you give it to her?’

‘It ain’t a crime to give your missus a present.’

‘I’ll take that as a yes,’ Jane said.

‘Take it how you like, love.’

‘You opened the nun’s coffin yesterday and stole the cross, didn’t you?’ Boon said.

‘I already told you, Dermot wanted to open the coffin. You should nick him and search his fucking gaff. I wanna speak to my missus!’ Barry demanded, getting up from the armchair.

Jane pushed him hard in the chest so he fell back into the armchair, then pointed a finger at him. ‘The only place you are going is to the station for interview. Take him down to the car,’ she told the crime squad officers.

She waited until they were alone in the flat, then told Boon about Katie and her bruises.

‘He’s a real low life.’

‘Barry mustn’t know what his wife told me. Do everything slowly with him so she has plenty of time to pack some bags and get out.’ She took the exhibits bag with the cross in it from her pocket. ‘Take this to the SOCO. Get him to photograph it and print some enlargements for me.’ Boon held it up and looked at it, and was about to put it in his pocket when Jane stopped him.