‘Morning, Lara, how are you?’

The woman’s eyebrows arched further in annoyance. ‘How do you know my name?’

Jessica hadn’t known it for sure but, from Andrew’s description and the fact the address matched, it seemed a fair bet.

‘A lucky guess. I’m clever like that. I’m Detective Sergeant Daniel. Can I have a few minutes?’

Lara screwed her face up further, causing a heavy line to appear on her forehead. ‘You’re police? What do you want?’

‘Just a quick word . . . as I, er, said . . .’ Jessica couldn’t resist the sarcasm, thinking that was probably why it was ‘always you’ as Rowlands pointed out.

‘I ain’t done nothing.’

‘I never said you had. I just wanted to ask you about Ryan Chadwick.’

Lara looked surprised at the mention of the name. ‘Ryan? What about him?’

‘I was thinking maybe we could have a girly chat. Compare notes. You know, what do you think about Ryan? What’s he up to? Why is he having illicit meetings in the dark on bridges in the middle of nowhere? That kind of thing.’

Jessica got the reaction she wanted. Lara’s eyes widened in amazement. She took a long drag from her cigarette before throwing what was left at her feet and putting one hand on the door. ‘What are you on about?’

‘I was wondering how you know Ryan.’

‘We’re mates.’

‘How about Sienna Todd and Molly North? Do you know them?’

Lara’s eyes rolled upwards in thought before she replied. Jessica wasn’t sure if it was because she was trying to decide what the best response might be, or because she was genuinely trying to recall if she did know the other girls.

‘I don’t know. I sort of know the names. Maybe they’re friends of Ryan?’

It sounded plausible. ‘Are they friends of yours?’

‘No. Why are you asking?’ Lara’s demeanour had changed completely from being aggressive to hugging her arms across her chest. The absence of the cigarette had left her biting her bottom lip. Jessica started to speak but the sound of a baby crying began somewhere behind Lara, interrupting them. The young woman half-turned, looking back to Jessica. ‘I’ve got to go. What do you actually want?’

Jessica locked eyes with the woman but tried to sound sympathetic. ‘I want to know that you’re not involved in anything you can’t get yourself out of.’

For a moment, Jessica thought the woman was going to break but another wail from the unseen child seemed to change the woman’s mind. ‘No, I’m fine,’ she said, starting to push the door closed. ‘I’ve got to go.’

Jessica turned and walked back towards the car, wondering if she should have asked Rowlands or someone else to handle talking to Lara. She hadn’t wanted to ask specifically about the money but she did want to let the woman know that she knew something was going on. The one thing that both Lara and Molly had in common was the awkwardness when Ryan’s name was mentioned. She couldn’t place what it was but it matched the uncomfortable feeling she had when she was around him.

As she sat in the car next to Rowlands, it was clear something had happened. ‘I didn’t know if I should come find you,’ he said.

‘What’s up?’

‘Jason says Anthony Thompson has confessed to attacking Martin.’

22

Jessica and Rowlands arrived at the police station just as Anthony Thompson was being led through the side entrance towards the cells. Jessica caught Reynolds as he was walking across the car park.

‘What did he say?’ she asked.

The inspector seemed a little frustrated and she didn’t know if it was due to her – or because he had spent the morning with Anthony. ‘We asked where he was last night, the usual thing. At first he said he couldn’t remember. I took a gamble and told him Martin had been attacked and he just laughed and said he enjoyed doing it.’

‘Shite. Do you believe him?’

Reynolds held open the station’s door, letting her and Rowlands enter. ‘I don’t know, that’s why we brought him in. If he repeats it on tape, we’ll have it formally. There’s something wrong with him. At first we thought he was drunk but then he seemed fine. Sometimes he slurs his words, sometimes he’s completely clear. You never know what you’re getting.’

It all sounded very familiar. Jessica told Rowlands she would see him soon, before following Reynolds along the corridor towards the interview room.

‘What are we going to do?’ she asked.

He stopped, shuffling into a doorway away from the main area. ‘I’m not sure you should be involved in this.’

Jessica felt stung. He had never said anything like it to her in the past. ‘Why?’

‘You’re too close, Jess. I’m not sure you even see it. Jack and I were thinking . . .’

‘You’re talking about me behind my back?’ The aggression in Jessica’s voice surprised even her.

‘No, we’re not. We know how good you are with people and at your job. But there’s something about Martin, Anthony, Ryan and these girls that seems to have affected you. You’re connecting dots that aren’t there to be joined.’ He lowered his voice, leaning in closer. ‘You suggested using a private investigator to do our dirty work. Dirty work we’re not even sure needed doing. Don’t you see how that all looks?’

‘What if I’m right about Ryan?’

‘What if you’re not, Jess? What do you think he’s been up to? Burning down houses? Attacking his own dad? Killing girls and make it seem like they’ve done it themselves? How far are you going to go?’

Jessica couldn’t meet the inspector’s eyes. She knew he was saying things for her own good but he didn’t know the half of it. He hadn’t seen the doodles she had been given by Aidan. He didn’t know she had gone behind his back and got Andrew to follow Ryan anyway. He hadn’t been there when she had followed and slapped the teenager. She tried to steady her voice. ‘Let me sit in with Anthony. You talk, I’ll listen.’

‘No.’

‘Why not?’

‘Because I know you, Jess. I know you won’t be able to stay quiet and it’s not as if I can turn around and tell you to stop once we’re in there.’

‘Trust me.’

Reynolds sighed, staring at the ceiling before shaking his head slightly and affectionately resting an arm on Jessica’s shoulder. ‘Fine – let’s go.’

As they readied the interview room, the two officers barely spoke. Jessica knew the inspector had been as delicate and discreet as he could. In previous years, she might have flown into a rage, storming up to the chief inspector’s office to find out what the problem was. She had largely moved past that but his words hurt more than they angered her.

An officer knocked on the door to say that Anthony was refusing his right to speak to a solicitor and seemed content to sit quietly in the cells. Reynolds told the officer he may as well bring the man upstairs in that case.

Jessica couldn’t remember feeling nervous ahead of an interview but, as she sat slightly behind Reynolds in a position that felt unfamiliar, she could feel a twinge in her stomach. ‘Are you all right?’ the inspector asked, sensing her unease.

‘I’m fine.’

‘You don’t have to stay silent. If you’ve got something to mention, just say it.’

Before Jessica could think of anything appreciative, there was a knock on the door and Anthony Thompson was led into the room. He looked almost the same as the other times Jessica had met him, his matted hair hanging untidily around his shoulders, but his face was even redder than on the earlier occasions. She saw him smirk slightly before realising he was being filmed.

Reynolds ran through the initial details from the previous night, asking Anthony where he was. Jessica immediately began to feel edgy when he wouldn’t be more specific than ‘town’.

After a frustrating series of exchanges, Reynolds eventually moved onto the questions Jessica would have started with. ‘What happened as you were returning home?’ he asked.