I’ve lost almost everything I hold dear and caused so much pain to those I love. It has to stop here, and I hope you understand this is the only way to make sure it does. I’m sorry I couldn’t be the father and husband that you all deserved. I tried, Natasha, God knows I tried. I’d give anything for a second chance but I know it’s too late.

May God forgive me.

N.B.

He grabbed a pad of paper from his desk and read the note a second time, jotting down a few thoughts as he went. Once he’d finished, he placed it back in the file and reached for the collection of photographs. There were six of them, all A4 size glossy prints, the sharpness of the colour slightly faded. The first few were taken from around ten feet away, and showed the body in situ. Nathan Barclay had sat down against the wall before he pulled the trigger. Porter found that curious. It wasn’t as if he would feel any pain by the time his head hit the floor had he stood, but it was hard to say what thoughts were going through someone’s mind when they’d got to that stage in the decision-making process. He’d also taken off his suit jacket, and folded it neatly by his side, positioning the note on top of it. Other pictures showed the scene from several angles, two of them showing close-ups of the entry and exit wounds.

Barclay had a key ring with him that included a master key to this and several other warehouses nearby. He’d used this to let himself in, and there was no suggestion that anyone else had been there at the time. The investigating officers at the time had also included in their report a cursory line of enquiry into Barclay’s business and finances as a possible motive for his actions. According to their notes, Atlas Holdings was a haulage firm operating nationally through the UK. It had been started by Barclay’s father back in the forties, just after the end of World War Two. It had run into financial difficulties at the start of the eighties and had been bought by Locke & Winwood in April 1983.

Porter stopped when he read about the sale. It didn’t say anything else about Locke & Winwood or what they did. He realised he’d forgotten to ask Mary Locke about whether her husband was involved in the business, and made a mental note to follow it up. Either way, it was intriguing that Natasha’s father sold his business the same month he committed suicide, and also around the same time she was last seen. A grouping of key events like that could be a coincidence, but there was a long way to go before he’d settle for that explanation.