‘She’s either not in or not answering.’

‘Well, stay there, it won’t be long, I’ll call you back.’ Jessica hung up.

‘Can we go in?’ one of the uniformed officers asked.

Jessica didn’t think twice. ‘Yes, break it down.’

She had no doubt the warrant would be granted but didn’t want to wait the ten minutes it might take. She could feel Rowlands peering at her but didn’t move to meet his stare, instead standing back to give the officer room. If the door proved to be a problem they would request a tactical entry team, who would bring tools such as a battering ram to help them enter. From their first visit, Jessica had seen the door was made of thin wood and didn’t think they’d have any issues getting in.

The man who had previously chased January took a step back and hammered his boot through the midsection close to the lock. The timber splintered and imploded, the door swinging open after just one blow.

Jessica told two of the officers and Rowlands to wait as she entered. Behind the door was a staircase that had a thinning patchy red carpet running up it. She walked up the stairs with the officer who had broken the door down behind her. At the top was another door. Jessica knocked loudly again.

‘January, are you in there?’

The door felt as thin as the one downstairs. Jessica knew she had already broken procedure, if not the law itself, by not waiting for the warrant.

The officer looked at her, eyebrows raised as if to ask whether or not he should bust through this door too. Jessica nodded. The constable didn’t have as much room but was as brutal with the second door as he had been with the first, smashing through the thin wood with barely a grunt. Jessica was impressed at his athleticism.

‘Wait here,’ she said to him, walking through the shattered remains of the timber into the flat. Her instincts told her January wasn’t home and she didn’t want anyone else potentially disrupting the scene, seeing as the place would have to be searched by a trained team.

The front door led directly into the living room. Aside from a television, the rest of the room was fairly empty. It looked lived-in though, a few books and odd items of clothing littering the floor. The randomness of the objects reminded Jessica of the way she lived. Frequently she found items of clothing or things like her phone charger in places around her flat without knowing when she had left them there.

‘January?’ Jessica called but everything was quiet. She jumped slightly as the silence was broken by her phone ringing. From the caller ID, she could see it was Cole.

‘Sir?’

‘We’ve got the warrant,’ he said. ‘I’ve requested two of the lab team to come and assist you too.’

‘Thanks. She’s not answered her door yet.’

‘What does her flat look like?’

The comment confirmed her one fear about someone she had been close to professionally being promoted. When he was an inspector, Cole had seen exactly the way she worked and would have had a good idea she was going to get access to the flat as soon as she could.

‘Now we’ve got the warrant, I’ll get one of the officers to break through,’ Jessica replied, figuring there was little point in confirming his suspicions.

Cole paused for a moment. ‘Fair enough. If anything changes, let me know. If she’s genuinely missing or made a run for it, we’re going to have to get a photo of her out to as many media outlets as possible as soon as we can. The longer we wait, the further she could get if she has run.’

Jessica hung up and continued to look around the apartment. There wasn’t much to it but she did make a point of carefully opening the wardrobes in the bedroom to see if the black cloak was present. Almost all of the clothes were black, making it hard to differentiate one item from the next without actually touching them.

There was no sign of January anywhere.

The kitchen was the worst-looking room by far. Jessica rarely used her own, except for the microwave, but it looked as if January’s was almost untouched. Dirt lined the bottom of the white skirting boards, with cheap brown linoleum peeling away from the edges. A once-white cooker was in the corner but was covered in red and brown stains and the worktops were littered with empty food packaging. Jessica didn’t want to venture too far into the room but could see a faded red stain more or less in the middle near a small dining table. She walked carefully towards it, crouching to get a better look. She didn’t know for sure but it looked like dried blood someone had tried to clean. Given the state of the rest of the kitchen, it could be something as innocent as spaghetti sauce or gravy but its position in the centre, away from the cooker, worktops and the dining table, stood out.

Jessica returned to the front door, thinking she would mention it to the lab team when they arrived, although they were professional enough to spot it anyway.

The officer was still waiting for her on the stairs outside. ‘Not in then?’

‘Not unless she’s a contortionist and hiding in the fridge.’

The reason for January not being in could be innocent but Jessica seriously doubted it. The fact the hands were being left in public places showed whoever was leaving them was trying to play games. Being arrested and then placing the hand of her boyfriend to taunt them seemed the type of thing the person might want to do but Jessica had looked into January’s eyes in the interview room and it was hard to imagine her being that cunning.

She led the constable outside to where Rowlands and the other officers were standing. A small crowd had gathered not far from the shop’s doorway. Jessica shook her head at Rowlands to indicate she hadn’t found anything and then sent him and one officer back to the station. ‘Izzy’s looking to see if there’s a connection from Lewis Barnes to anyone else reported missing,’ she told the constable. ‘Give her some help. I’ll be back soon.’

Jessica waited with the other two officers for the lab team to arrive but phoned Cole to ask if January’s photo could be released to the media. The picture of the woman in the cape alongside Lewis provided a good up-to-date likeness.

When the Scene of Crime team arrived, Jessica mentioned the substance she thought could be blood in the kitchen, then left the two officers with them. The constables would remain for a while in case the woman did arrive back. Someone would have to stay until the lab workers had left and the property could be boarded up and secured.

Jessica knew it was a bit cheeky but asked the officers if they minded her taking the second car. They didn’t have a lot of choice but she felt a little better about asking rather than telling them she was going to drive back to the station. They would either have to phone into the base to get a lift, or take a bus. The pair didn’t seem overly pleased but didn’t object.

It was lunchtime and the sun was again warm on her arms as she drove but Jessica had barely pulled away when her phone rang. She pulled over to the side of the road and answered.

Jessica recognised the voice as Diamond’s. ‘Sergeant Daniel?’

‘I’ve told you before to call me Jess,’ she said. ‘I’ve sent Dave back to help you.’

‘He’s not here yet but we think we’ve got something.’

‘What?’

‘We started with Lewis Barnes’ school records given the age thing. There are so many names but we found someone he left sixth form with when he was eighteen. There’s an “Edward Marks” listed as finishing at the same time as him, then an “Ed Marks” on our list of missing people. I don’t know if it’s the same person but they’re the same age. I’ve got a contact number for his brother who reported him missing.’

Given it was a family member who had told them the man was absent, Jessica knew a simple swab would be able to tell them if the brother’s DNA was a match for the first hand.