As she scanned around, she could see two other cameras attached to the hotel and a further one high above a shop front. She figured footage from those would be kept somewhere on their respective sites.

Jessica felt the warmth of the June sun on her arms and thought about spending the rest of the day indoors watching camera footage from the night before. ‘Whoever left it could have at least picked a rainy day,’ she said to no one in particular.

Jessica slumped back into her chair and sighed. The office she was sitting in belonged to the private security firm who monitored the city’s cameras. It felt small, lit only by a fluorescent strip on the ceiling above her and the bank of monitors she was facing. She leant forward to press a button on a control panel, stopping the video images she had been watching, then pushing back in her seat again and peering at the woman next to her. ‘Bored of being in CID yet?’

The female officer slouched back in her own chair and laughed. ‘We’ve only been looking through the tapes for an hour.’

‘Exactly, an hour; we could have been out doing all sorts. Someone with a name like yours shouldn’t be stuck inside on a day like this. You should be in a rock band or something.’

‘“Isobel” isn’t that strange a name.’

Jessica nodded. ‘Maybe not but “Izzy” sounds cool. Especially “Izzy Diamond”. It’s too good a name to be wasted on the Greater Manchester Police force.’

‘It wasn’t so “cool” when I was at school. “Dizzy Izzy”, “Isobel-End”, “Izzy A Bloke?” and all that.’

‘That’s quite original bullying,’ Jessica said, trying not to sound too impressed. ‘At my school, I just got called “Dan the Man” for ten years.’

Detective Constable Izzy Diamond had only joined Manchester Metropolitan’s Criminal Investigation Department six weeks before. The division’s detective chief inspector, John Farraday, had given up his job almost seven months ago but stayed on for a short while to help guide his successor into the post. The new incumbent, Jack Cole, had previously been a DI and, with his promotion, Jason Reynolds had been elevated from detective sergeant to inspector. Jessica had previously spent just over two years sharing an office with the then DS Reynolds and the pair’s relationship hadn’t altered much despite his change in job.

Because of the reshuffle and the fact one of their colleagues, DC Carrie Jones, had been killed the previous year, two new constables had been hired. DC Diamond was one of the fresh faces and Jessica had chosen to take the new girl under her wing. There was very little between them in terms of age, with Jessica in her early thirties and the constable less than a year younger.

Jessica glanced away from the monitors to look at the officer. ‘Did you have that colour hair when you were at school?’

Izzy ran her hands through her long bright red mane seemingly without thinking about it. She let it drop to her shoulders then tied it into a ponytail with a band she’d had around her wrist. ‘Nope, it was a type of browny dark colour then. I’ve only been red like this for the past year, since I got married. I fancied a change after we got back from honeymoon.’

Jessica nodded. ‘I think it’s pretty cool.’

‘It scares off the older guys at the station so that’s a bonus. I think most of them think I’m a vampire or something.’

‘What’s it like?’

The constable grinned and had a twinkle in her blue eyes. ‘What, being a vampire?’

Jessica laughed. ‘No, being married.’

Izzy bit her bottom lip. ‘Marriage is fine. My husband, Mal, would like to start trying for kids but I want to do this for a few more years at least before I think about that. I’d rather try the vampirism.’

Jessica looked back towards the monitors and pressed the button that started the footage at double speed. She kept her eyes on the screen, continuing to talk. ‘Is Mal short for Malcolm?’

‘Malachi.’

‘Wow, you two have the best names ever. You did marry him just for the last name though, didn’t you?’

Izzy laughed. ‘Of course. Who could resist “Diamond” as a surname? I used to be “Isobel Smith”, which was way more boring.’

Jessica had worked on a few minor things with the constable since she had been appointed but the mystery over the severed hand was by far the most serious case Izzy had been involved with. Jessica hadn’t been told by anyone she had to go out of her way to work closely with any of the new recruits but had done so anyway. It felt strange because she was Izzy’s supervisor but, in some respects, she felt inferior to her. Jessica lived in a flat on her own, the constable was married and owned a house. It wasn’t that Jessica was desperate to have a boyfriend or settle down but they were roughly the same age and Izzy seemed like the proper grown-up to her. While the constable would do a full day at work and talk about hosting dinner parties and the like, Jessica would spend her evenings either in front of the television or on the Internet while eating microwaved food. The fact the woman next to her could even contemplate having children nailed her down as a genuine adult. Jessica couldn’t stand other people’s kids – let alone think about having any of her own.

‘My mate’s getting married,’ Jessica said.

‘Someone from the station?’

‘I do have other friends too!’

‘Sorry, I didn’t mean . . .’

‘It’s all right. She’s my oldest friend actually, Caroline. We lived together for ages but grew apart. We’ve only been back in regular contact for the last couple of months or so.’

‘Let me guess, the job came between you?’ From her tone, it sounded as if Izzy spoke from experience.

‘You don’t know the half of it . . .’

Two years previously, Jessica had been trying to find a serial killer. The trail ultimately led her to Caroline’s boyfriend Randall, who tried to kill her. He was currently in a secure hospital and, as far as Jessica knew, hadn’t spoken to anyone since his arrest. After that things hadn’t quite been the same between the pair.

‘Is it something you want to talk about?’ Izzy asked, apparently sensing Jessica’s discomfort.

‘Not really. She phoned and asked if I’d be a bridesmaid for her.’

‘Are you doing it?’

‘Of course. We didn’t fall out and I’d still call her my best friend. I’m glad she asked but I’m not so sure about the whole big event thing. I don’t really do dressing up and all that.’

Izzy peered down at the light brown trouser suit she was wearing, fingering the thin lapel on her jacket. ‘Don’t you ever get bored of these suits every day?’

Jessica glanced away from the screens at her own grey suit. ‘I used to, maybe a couple of years ago. I don’t really think about it now. She’s not picked the dresses yet. I’m worried it will be some sort of pink or yellow monstrosity and I’ll be left living with those horrific photos until the end of time. If anyone from the station sees them . . .’ She drifted off, contemplating how she would struggle to live down those potential images.

The constable laughed, glancing up at the screen Jessica was watching. ‘I think my bridesmaids were worried about the same thing. We all chose together and went for something relatively plain and cream.’

‘Caroline’s favourite colour is purple, so I’m hoping she’s kind.’

There was a short pause as they both watched the monitor. There wasn’t much to see but every now and then a person or two would walk across the shot. After a period of silence, Izzy leant forward. ‘Do we have any idea what time this hand would have been left?’

Jessica slowed the footage so it was playing at one and a half times the regular speed. ‘Presumably after it went dark. It was found a little before eight this morning, so sometime between half-ten last night and then.’ She pointed at the screen. ‘There’s a blind spot during this night footage because of where the street lights are.’