Gerry’s eyes had adjusted enough to see Jade nod in the dark, her eyes big and shining in the pale child’s face. She hated to leave her like this, but what Jade had said made sense. Jade was too scared to go public with what she knew, but with what she had told Gerry tonight, what Gerry had recorded on her mobile, they could start to take Sunny and his grooming network down first thing in the morning, or perhaps as soon as she got to her car and phoned DI Cabbot. She knew she had broken protocol and the recording might be useless in court, if it ever came to that, but it was enough to get them started, to show them where to look and who to question. Someone would break. It had to be better than nothing. They could have a go at Sunny and Faisal and the others first. Find the other victims, Becca and the rest. Then they could bring the Dewsbury police in on the action. She gave Jade a friendly pat on the shoulder, then got to her feet and made her way down the creaking stairs.

GERRY FELT uneasy about leaving Jade alone in the condemned house, even though the girl had far more street smarts than she did. She moved the board aside and slipped through into the deserted road. Somewhere in the distance a dog barked, and she could hear the sound of a television set a bit closer to hand, no doubt blaring through an open window. Not far away, glass smashed, and Gerry realized it was most likely kids playing around in the derelict factory. Fences and barbed wire wouldn’t stop them finding a way in for very long. Her car was about a hundred yards away, around the corner past the broken playground. She found herself walking fast, head down, holding on to the strap of her shoulder bag tightly, even though there seemed to be nobody around. It was that kind of street. If she’d been wearing high heels, her footsteps would have clicked on the pavement and echoed, but she was wearing trainers, so she moved silently.

When she turned into the street where her car was parked, she didn’t see them at first, but as she approached her little Corsa, four figures—or so she thought—seemed to detach themselves from the shadows into the light and move toward her. Her first thought was to stand and face them down. Surely her warrant card would be protection enough? Then she remembered what had happened to Mimosa, and the things Jade had just told her. Gerry wasn’t much of a fighter, but she was a hell of a runner.

So she turned and ran.