‘Did we get hold of Stan North last night?’ Gina asked Wyre as she stepped into the incident room, sipping her first coffee of the day.

‘No, AWOL. We went over to his pad, and I’m telling you, it’s a big pad. It’s the type of place you’d expect the likes of Posh and Becks to live in. I took a few photos for evidential purposes. Elizabeth North didn’t object. Big kitchen, pristine with a banquet table that could host a huge party. How the other half live? Anyway, he didn’t go home last night. Mrs North is going berserk and keeps calling the station.’

Gina carefully studied the photos. The rooms were almost clutter-free except for a few jars on the side, and a spice rack. ‘Did anyone speak with her?’

‘We asked her a few questions. In summary, he’d left work earlier that day, saying that he was just off to pick a delivery up. It was probably about teatime but she couldn’t be sure when. That was the last she saw of him. She’s been trying to call him since but he hasn’t been answering his phone.’

‘And the girl?’ Gina rubbed her tired eyes.

‘Seventeen-year-old Elisa Stanford. Smith went over to the hospital and spoke to her last night. Her mother was with her and she had been placed in a side ward, being monitored for concussion. She’d fallen and knocked her head after being chased by a male that fitted Stan North’s description. Her mother was going to be late picking her up from work. She works at the Taste of Nature farm shop. She left at around five o’clock and began walking home along the country roads. Next thing she remembers is his car pulling up alongside her. She said he’d come in and bought some items from the shop a couple of days earlier and he’d seemed creepy then, so she ran into the woodland. The only thing she remembered after that was Bryn Tilly finding her in the woods with a bleeding head and taking her to the hospital. She called her mother who met her there.’

‘Thanks, Paula. What colour is her hair?’

‘Smith said she had mousy brown hair.’

‘She doesn’t fit the description. If our theories are right, our perpetrator likes red haired girls.’

‘Maybe he’s changed.’

‘Maybe.’

Jacob walked past with Smith. Gina listened as Smith spoke. ‘We’ve charged the woman with being in possession of a class A drug and she’s still not talking. We’ve run her DNA, prints and mug shot – nothing.’

‘Who’s this?’ Gina asked as Smith took a seat with Jacob around the main table.

‘That woman we pulled in, at the drug bust. She still won’t say a word. We’re applying to the courts for a further extension this morning. We need to identify her.’

‘Has her swab been fast tracked? Was there a match on the prints?’

‘It’s all been catalogued and the swab has been sent to the lab. There’s something you need to know and I was just getting to this.’

Gina took a step closer, eager to hear what Smith had to share. A smile beamed across his face. ‘The partial print that was recorded, from the cellophane packaging that was found on our van girl, Erin – it matches our silent woman’s print.’

‘I need to speak to her.’

‘Good luck with that, guv.’

O’Connor stepped into the room with a tray of coffees just as his phone went. He slammed them down, steaming brown liquid sloshing over the side of the cups. ‘O’Connor,’ he said as he took the call. ‘Okay, thank you.’ He placed the receiver down. ‘Guv, Stacey has arrived with her father – Christina Dawson’s friend.’

She’d almost forgotten that Christina’s friend was coming in but speaking to her wasn’t at the top of Gina’s list now. Their silent woman was definitely connected to one of their victims. How? She had no idea. ‘It’s all happening at once. Can you and Wyre speak with her? Take her to the family room, it might put her at ease. Jacob and I will attempt to speak with this woman. Did she have anything on her when she was brought in?’

‘No, guv. Just the heroin that we seized and about another thirty pounds in cash. The rest of her cash probably made up the pile that we confiscated from Westley Young.’

‘She didn’t have a phone?’

‘No. It was just her. We are reviewing what small amount of CCTV footage we have in the area, trying to locate if she has a car. If she has, it would have been left there since the bust.’

‘Has she spoken at all?’ Gina felt her muscles tensing up. If only she could storm in there and shake it out of the woman.

‘She’s asked for coffee. She understands, she’s just refusing to speak. She grins occasionally as if to tell us where to go. I had the medical officer take a look at her, she spoke to him and she’s in good health.’

‘Why is this job so damn hard? I mean, how long does she think she can sit there without saying a word? Keep on with the CCTV footage. If we can find a car, we can identify her. Right, let’s do this.’