Laura had been jabbering away since they’d left Helen’s parents’ flat in Thornhill, but Kate failed to follow the thread of what she was saying, her headache thumping despite the pills.

Laura glanced over at her. ‘You don’t look well, ma’am. Is everything okay?’

Kate grimaced. She’d had her eyes closed since she’d got in the car, sensitive to the bright sky hanging over the city.

‘Do you need me to stop so you can get something for the pain?’

Kate shook her head as she reached into her pocket, one more wouldn’t hurt.

‘I’ll be right as rain in a bit.’

Laura watched her, silently. ‘Well, if you need me to stop, just let me know.’

Kate nodded, without opening her eyes.

‘Ma’am, tell me to mind my own business, but why are you so keen to be involved in this investigation?’

For a moment it looked like Kate wasn’t going to answer, but then she replied in a distant voice. ‘Twelve months ago I was hunting a man targeting women just like Helen, and I let him get away. I’m not making that same mistake again. Ever.’

---

‘This is the place,’ Laura confirmed as she pulled into the industrial estate and pointed towards the large iron shutter. ‘Leonard’s record was linked to Helen’s, so we know he’s done time for theft and assault. If he’s in work today, he might run when he sees us.’

‘Let’s break the news to him gently, and see how he reacts. Just because Helen’s dad pointed the finger at him, we can’t make any assumptions.’

They exited the car and crossed the estate, ducking beneath the shutter. Somewhere in the large workshop, a radio was playing ’80s music. Three men were leaning over the bonnet of a Land Rover at the front of the garage, while two others worked beneath another vehicle raised on a platform. Tools littered the worktops at the sides, and a wall of tyres was barely visible at the far end.

‘We’re looking for Rhys Leonard,’ Kate called out.

The sound of something heavy clanging to the concrete floor echoed around the large brick unit and an overweight man in grimy dungarees and a T-shirt, leaning nearest the Land Rover, reached for a rag and wiped his hands. His thick, greying beard hung low enough to hide his entire neck, making him resemble a grubby garden gnome.

‘He’s around ’ere somewhere,’ the man said. ‘What d’you want with him?’

Kate nodded for Laura to show her identification before sending her off towards the back of the garage to have a look around. ‘It’s a private matter. Who are you?’

The mechanic threw the rag onto a counter to his right. ‘I’m Duggan. I own this place.’

The lighting towards the back of the unit wasn’t good, and Laura had all but disappeared into the shadows.

She raised her eyebrows nonchalantly. ‘It’s a nice place.’

Laura returned a moment later with a man in his twenties; he was bony, wearing a sleeveless vest layered with dirt and grime, like his boss’s. His skinny arms were covered in tattoos, and his head was bent low.

Kate nodded towards Duggan. ‘Have you got somewhere private we can chat to him?’

Duggan eyed her cautiously. ‘Use the office in the back, but don’t touch anything. I know my rights.’

Laura ushered Rhys towards the plastic enclosure at the opposite side of the garage. The room contained a small desk and three chairs. The desk was covered with various papers, and a black-and-white monitor in one corner flashed up security-camera images every few seconds. Kate took Duggan’s seat behind the desk, allowing Rhys to take the seat opposite while Laura remained on her feet, standing guard at the door to ensure they wouldn’t be interrupted.

Kate rested her hands on a stack of papers on the desk. ‘I’m DI Kate Matthews, and this is my colleague DC Laura Trotter.’

Rhys nodded at them both, the anxiety in his eyes hard to miss.

Kate watched him carefully. ‘Do you know a woman by the name of Helen Jackson?’

His head snapped up. ‘She’s my missus.’

‘Can you tell me the last time you saw her?’

He looked anxiously at Laura, before turning back to Kate. ‘Wha’s this about?’

‘Just answer the question, please. When did you last see her?’

His eyes wandered towards the ceiling. ‘Must be… I don’t know… What day is it today?’

‘Friday.’

‘I don’t remember… maybe Monday night?’

‘Monday night? And where were you when you saw her?’

He chewed at a nail on his right hand, and Kate noticed the grazes on his knuckles. ‘We was at her place.’

‘And where was that?’

‘At her flat, like.’ He glanced back at Laura again, as if she might pounce at any moment. ‘Wha’s all this about? Wha’s she done?’

‘I’m sorry, Rhys, but Helen’s body was discovered in the boot of a car yesterday morning.’

He blinked several times as if he didn’t understand what she’d said. ‘What? Is this a wind-up?’

‘I’m afraid not, Mr Leonard. We’re treating this as a serious murder enquiry.’

He buried his head in his hands.

‘I’m afraid, I have to ask, where were you on Tuesday night, Rhys?’

His head snapped up. ‘You think I could… I loved her, for fuck’s sake!’

Kate spotted the small red needle marks in the skin in the bend of both his elbows. ‘Nobody is accusing you of anything. I just need to know where you were and what you were doing, so we can make headway with our investigation.’

He opened his mouth, but the words wouldn’t come out. He looked from her to Laura and then back again. ‘Well, I was nowhere near wherever this ’appened. What d’you take me for?’

‘So where were you then? It’s easier if you just tell us so we can focus on arresting the real person responsible.’

He shuffled in his seat, sweat now clinging to the top of his head. ‘I was out.’

‘Out where?’

He was staring down at his hands. ‘At a mate’s, that’s all.’

‘Which mate?’

‘Gibbo.’

Kate tried to control her growing frustration. ‘What’s Gibbo’s full name?’

‘I don’t know. Everyone just calls him Gibbo.’

‘Do you have his phone number, or can you tell me where I can find him?’

He screwed up his face and raised his voice. ‘He don’t like phones. Look, why does it matter? I didn’t kill her. I loved her.’

Kate leaned in towards him. ‘Someone hit the woman you love over the back of the head and then smothered her with a carrier bag, and we need to find them before they do it again. Tell me where you were on Tuesday night, or so help me I’m going to drag you down to the station and leave you in a cell for twenty-four hours while you come down off whatever shit it is you’re on.’

Laura’s eyes widened.

Rhys cowered against the side of the chair. ‘All right, all right… I was at Dave Gibson’s flat. He lives in Millbrook, near the KFC.’

Kate sat back, taking several breaths, while a look of concern grew on Laura’s face. ‘And will Gibson corroborate you were there?’

‘Yeah, of course, but you can’t go asking ’im. If he knows I sent you lot to his door, he’ll fucking kill me. Can’t you just take my word for it?’

‘Write his address down.’

His eyes were pleading. ‘No, please, you can’t go there. Listen, I swear to you I was there.’

Kate was all too aware of who Dave Gibson was, and his reputation. Against her better judgement, she relented; Leonard was a petty criminal and junkie, probably not even capable of inflicting that kind of physical attack on Helen. ‘Was anyone else there who can confirm your presence?’

Rhys desperately scanned the wall, trying to remember. His eyes widened. ‘Yeah. My parole officer phoned me while I was there. Check with him. He’ll tell you he spoke to me for over an hour on my mobile. You can do one of them phone signal tracking things, can’t you? You’ll see I was with my phone all night round Gibbo’s.’

‘Can you think of anyone who might have wanted to see Helen dead?’

His expression softened for the first time. ‘Nah, she was an angel.’

‘You said you haven’t seen her since Monday. It’s now Friday. Weren’t you concerned about where she might be?’

A look of disappointment fell across his face. ‘She told me she didn’t want to see me anymore. I figured that’s why she wasn’t answering my texts.’

‘But when we arrived you said she was your girlfriend.’

His knees jiggled up and down. ‘She is, I mean, was… she told me she couldn’t be around me now that she was clean. But I figured she was just saying it and that she’d be back again. It wasn’t the first time she’d tried going clean.’

‘She broke up with you on Monday night? That sounds like a motive to me.’

‘I told you, I didn’t think she meant it. We had our rows, but we always patched things up. But now she’s…’

‘How long had she been clean?’ Kate interrupted.

‘Must be three months since I saw her using – around Halloween. She was determined to get her life on track. She got a job at a grocer’s near her place. I’ve never seen her looking so good.’ He rubbed his eyes, trying to focus, trying to take it all in.

‘She was found wearing a ring. Was that from you?’

He nodded, a fresh wave of agony stealing across his face. ‘It was my mother’s. I gave it to Helen for her birthday. I told her it was a stopgap until I could afford a proper engagement ring. That’s why I knew she didn’t really want to split up, ’cause she didn’t give me the ring back. She – she loved me.’

Kate pushed her seat back. ‘I want you to write down your mobile number so we can trace it. If I think you’ve lied to us, I will visit Gibson and tell him you sent me, so if there’s anything else you’d like to say before I go, now’s your chance.’

He gulped, but shook his head.

Kate watched him as she spoke. ‘There’s just one more thing. I’d like you to provide a voluntary DNA sample, so we can compare it against what was found at the scene.’

‘What if I don’t want to?’

‘That’s your choice, Rhys, but tell me why you wouldn’t want to help us rule you out as a suspect?’

He turned away dismissively. ‘I know my rights.’

---

Back at the car, Laura turned to Kate. ‘Why’d you ask for a DNA sample? I thought the pathologist didn’t find the killer’s DNA there.’

‘He didn’t. I just wanted to see what he’d do when I asked for it.’