There was nothing at all in what he read that made him doubt the verdict of suicide, but the note was ambiguous enough to leave him with a list of questions. Was he referring to actual pain caused, or emotional distress?

It has to stop here.

What had to stop, and what had he actually done in the first place? Why had he singled out Natasha for a mention and not his son or ex-wife?

God knows I tried.

What had he tried? Did he mean he tried to stop himself doing whatever had happened to her, or was there something or someone else in play here? She had last been seen in the week leading up to his suicide, so if he was responsible for Natasha’s disappearance, why would he not give her stepmother and brother the peace they deserved and spell out her fate as part of his last words? If nothing else, Porter thought they were owed at least that.

Gavin Locke kept his promise the following day, and the results that came back twenty-four hours later proved beyond any doubt that the hand did indeed belong to Natasha Barclay. Styles made a wisecrack about it only being a familial match and that there could be other siblings out there who had disappeared as well. Porter just shook his head and grimaced in mock disgust. He looked around and caught the eye of one of the junior officers across the room, beckoning him over. He gave him a hastily scribbled note with Natasha Barclay’s name and date of birth on, and sent him to check local hospitals to see how far back their records went.

‘I’ve been busy digging up some useful facts as well, though,’ said Styles. ‘You were right; there is a connection between Locke and Barclay. The company that bought Atlas Holdings lock, stock and barrel was owned by Alexander Locke, currently married to Mary Locke.’

‘What about Winwood?’ asked Porter. ‘Who’s he?’

‘He died back in the seventies, cancer of some sort. The company has been around for a while. Winwood set it up with Locke’s father and had no family, so Locke Senior ended up owning the whole thing. Locke Junior took over in the mid-seventies. Guess he kept Winwood’s name in out of respect or branding. They’re essentially an import-export business but do the whole lot themselves – the shipping, storage and distribution; they’re into everything from food and drink to electrical goods and clothes.’

Porter nodded. Now he thought of it, the name was familiar for another reason aside from the connection to the case. Lorries bearing the Locke & Winwood logo could usually be spotted on motorways up and down the country.

‘Atlas ran up a tonne of debt and Locke stepped in and purchased it for the princely sum of a pound.’

Porter’s eyes widened. ‘A pound?’