The flat seemed so quiet now. Ben hadn’t called yet, and since getting home, Kate hadn’t been able to concentrate as she read and reread her notes. The answer had to be in there, but she couldn’t escape the fact that she was reviewing old material. She would give anything to see copies of what the new team had. She’d thought about reaching out to Armitage again. Ultimately, they both wanted the same outcome: to catch Amy’s killer. The only difference was, she wanted justice, where he wanted a promotion ladder.

Making her way towards the kitchen, she opened the freezer, removed a frozen ready meal and threw it into the microwave.

The door buzzer sounded, startling her. He must have decided to come over rather than call. She buzzed the door open, but was surprised to see Laura on the stairs, rather than Ben.

‘Sorry to come around unannounced,’ she said, raising a chilled bottle of wine into the air. ‘Can I come in?’

Kate moved away from the door and reached two glasses down from the kitchen cupboard. ‘Are you okay? You look… well, you don’t look happy. Is this about what Isbitt said in the interview?’

Laura opened the bottle and poured generously into both glasses, before following Kate through to the living room. ‘His wife doesn’t deserve to be treated like that. It makes me just want to phone her up and tell her what’s going on, but if I did—’

Kate interrupted. ‘I know it’s tough, but unfortunately we can’t interfere at that level. However, I do think he might have assaulted her. She didn’t want to admit it, but I saw the signs.’

‘Poor woman.’

Kate sipped her wine. ‘Did you manage to get hold of his girlfriend? Did she confirm his alibi?’

‘Of course she did.’

‘But you don’t believe her?’

‘SSD extracted multiple DNA sources from the vehicle, but one in particular – a hair from one of the carpet mats in the front of the car – belongs to Isbitt. If he didn’t kill her, how the hell did a stray hair wind up in the footwell?’

‘Have you put that to him yet?’

‘Not yet. Underhill is applying for an extension to his custody so SSD can continue searching the car for more samples. Underhill told me to go home and rest, and to be back in for seven tomorrow to have another go at Isbitt. I had to explain to him that you’d agreed for us to bring Isbitt in. He didn’t seem happy, but he should have answered his phone the six times I called him.’ Laura took a long sip of her wine as the microwave pinged from the kitchen. ‘Sorry, am I interrupting your dinner?’

‘It’s only a lasagne. It can wait.’

Laura looked at the walls. ‘Have you made any more progress with this lot?’

‘Not really… I wish there was a way to get an inside track on what the new team are looking at. I feel like we’ll never solve this if we don’t see the whole picture.’

‘I could log into HOLMES2 and see what I can find, if you want?’

‘No, it’s a high-profile case. If anyone not connected with the op starts searching for information, Armitage will know. If he then sees that you work with me, he’ll be on to the supe.’

Laura growled. ‘I’m still angry about Isbitt. Not content with a wife and child, he’s off shagging another woman. And some of us can’t even find one man who’ll take them out.’

Kate was surprised by the sudden outburst. ‘Are you all right?’

Realising that this wasn’t the time or place to be discussing her personal life, Laura apologised.

‘What about that barista at the café?’ Kate asked. ‘You could ask him out. I’d always assumed you had a boyfriend out there you didn’t talk about.’

‘We should change the subject. I’m fine on my own,’ Laura snorted. ‘Maybe online dating really is the way forward.’

Kate choked her wine back. ‘Trust me, it’s not a good idea.’ She said, reaching for her laptop and beginning to type. ‘Don’t tell anyone about this, but…’ She indicated for Laura to come and join her on the sofa.

‘Oh my God,’ Laura said when she saw what was on the screen. ‘This is your dating profile?’

Kate could barely look at it. ‘Embarrassing, right? My neighbour Trish put it on there for me, it’s how I got hacked by that stalker. Do you remember?’

‘I bet you get loads of hits from potential dates though.’

‘I just delete the emails. I keep meaning to have the profile removed, but I’ve never got round to it. My reason for showing it to you now, is to show you that you have nothing to worry about. You’re still young. You’re – what, twenty-four?’

Laura nodded.

‘There you go then. You’re not old enough to be worrying about settling down yet. I’m sure the right guy is out there somewhere. If you stop looking, he’ll probably come looking for you.’

‘And, in the meantime?’

‘Ask that barista out.’ Laura was about to return to her own seat, when Kate suddenly grabbed her hand. ‘It’s her. Look, on the advert. It’s the woman we found in the car park last night.’