Kim arrived at the cordon to the slip road at ten minutes to eleven.

She’d received Penn’s call as she’d been leaving Ted’s house. She’d told him to ring Bryant and get him to meet her there.

The journey had been filled with traffic updates of closed roads and diversions.

The officers let her car through, and she drove halfway down the exit ramp of junction 2 to the mêlée of vehicles, two fire trucks, two ambulances and more squad cars than she could count.

‘Right, stay and be good,’ Kim told Barney as she got out of the car.

She worked hard to control the limp that was taunting her left leg. About the driving maybe the doctor had had a point.

‘Adams,’ she called, recognising the traffic inspector responsible for the investigation into the death of Joanne Wade from Heathcrest.

He frowned as she approached.

‘You’re not stalking me, are you, Inspector?’ he asked with a smile.

‘Yeah, cos I’d really jump out and shout your name if I was a stalker,’ she said, wryly.

‘So, you’re here because?…’

‘The name of the victim,’ she said, as the sound of a generator kicked in.

Realisation dawned. ‘Cordell. Is this guy related to the throat guy?’

She nodded. ‘Son, I think,’ she said as someone called Adams’s name.

Bryant appeared as she followed the inspector towards the source of the call. It had come from a fire officer who also inclined his head in her direction, questioningly. Adams explained who she was as Bryant reached them.

‘This really Cordell’s son?’ her colleague asked.

‘Looks like it,’ she said, as the fire officer moved off at speed.

‘They’re getting close,’ Adams said, weaving through vehicles to reach the impact site.

Kim followed, and walked into a throng of people moving with a sense of urgency and anticipation.

The motorway was closed in both directions lending an eeriness to the bustle of activity amidst the silence and darkness beyond the flashing lights.

‘Keep back, please,’ said a fire officer placing a beefy arm in front of her.

‘Fuck me,’ Bryant said from beside her. His extra height gave him the advantage of looking above the fireman.

As he moved to the side Kim understood the reason for his out of character curse.

The entire front end of the Audi appeared to have disappeared, smashed against the motorway vehicle.

Kim’s breath caught in her throat.

The guy hadn’t stood a chance.

She could see that the firemen were pointing to the rear screen, which she was guessing they’d already smashed. She knew that they would already have tested and assessed all ways to try and retrieve the body to preserve damage.

One fireman stood poised with the cutter and nodded to his colleague. The second fireman stood back as the first positioned the claw-like blades inside the screen gap aimed up to the roof.

The sudden sound of the metal cracking apart silenced and drew the attention of everyone. Conversation of any kind was now impossible and hand movements and signs passed between the firemen in a well-rehearsed mime.

Within minutes the pincers had cut a line through the metal.

As a second fireman moved forward with the spreader, Kim could see the strategy they’d adopted. Using the natural gap left by the rear screen they were cutting and spreading open the metal to a wide enough gap to bring him out.

A third fireman approached with the ram, normally used to lift or push an obstacle out of their path.

‘What the hell is gonna be left of him when they get him out?’ Kim asked sadly, thinking of Mrs Cordell and her other son. This family had suffered enough.

‘Hopefully enough for these guys to work on,’ he said, looking anxiously to the paramedics.

Kim’s head whipped around. ‘You’re not saying?…’

‘Oh yes, Inspector, as of about seven minutes ago, Saul Cordell was still alive.’