‘Lucy sits at the window so she can see outside. She was entranced by the activity yesterday.’

‘Mr Payne, you were saying ...’ she steered him back on course, gently.

‘Yes, of course. The job at Crestwood was easy enough. All I had to do was make sure the place was secure so the girls couldn’t just leave and that no one could get in, check the smoke detectors and complete any odd jobs left by the day staff. It was very convenient for me and I was disappointed when it came to an end.’

‘The fire?’

He nodded. ‘Although the place was being closed anyway I was hopeful for another few months of work.’

‘Were you working that night?’

‘No, it was Arthur’s shift but I heard the alarm as soon as it went off. I’m in the front bedroom, you see.’

‘What did you do?’

‘I checked on Lucy then ran across the road. Arthur had got most of the girls out but he was choking so I ran in and did a final sweep to make sure there was no one left.

‘Miss Wyatt and Tom Curtis were the first to arrive and there was a lot of confusion. Everyone was doing lists to make sure all the girls were accounted for. The paramedics were removing girls for small cuts and smoke inhalation but not informing anyone. I was trying to help but just seemed to be making it worse. I left as the other staff members began to arrive.’

‘And what time was that?’

‘I’d say about one thirty.’

‘Did they identify the cause of the fire?’

‘I don’t know. I’m not sure how hard they looked. No one was seriously injured and the place was being wound down anyway.’

‘You know that both Teresa Wyatt and Tom Curtis have been murdered?’

William stood and approached his daughter. ‘Sweetheart, I think it’s time for a bit of music, eh?’

Kim didn’t see the blinked response but William fitted the earphones and switched on the device.

‘Her hearing is perfect, Detective. A normal fifteen-year-old would have been asked to leave the room. This is our equivalent.’

Kim could have kicked her own behind. Without realising it, she had treated Lucy as invisible because of her disability.

It was a mistake she would not make again.

‘What can you tell us about the victims?’

‘Not much. I rarely saw the day staff. Sometimes Mary, the housekeeper, would stay until I arrived to give me the gossip.’

‘What type of gossip?’

‘Mainly about Miss Wyatt and Mr Croft arguing. It was a power thing, Mary said.’

‘Can you think of anyone who would wish to harm any of the girls?’

William visibly paled and then looked to the window. ‘You can’t possibly think that anyone ... you really think that body in the ground is one of the girls from Crestwood?’

‘We haven’t yet ruled it out.’

‘I’m sorry but I really don’t think I can offer anything to help.’

William stood abruptly. His expression had changed. Still softly spoken, he had decided it was time for them to leave.

Bryant persisted. ‘What about the girls? Were they much trouble?’

William began to move away from them. ‘Not really. There were a few rebellious ones but they were generally good kids.’

‘What do you mean by rebellious?’ Bryant asked.

‘Just normal things.’

It was clear that William Payne wanted them to leave and Kim began to understand why.

‘What kind of ...’

‘Bryant, we’re done,’ Kim said, standing.

William looked at her gratefully.

‘But if I could just ask ...’

‘I said, we’re done.’ There was a growl in her voice. Bryant closed his notebook and stood.

Kim walked past William. ‘Thank you for your time, Mr Payne. We won’t keep you any longer.’

Kim passed by Lucy’s chair. She touched the girl’s left hand lightly. ‘Goodbye, Lucy. It was lovely to meet you.’

At the door Kim turned. ‘Mr Payne, if I could trouble you for a minute longer. What did you initially think we were here for?’

‘We had an attempted robbery the night before last. They didn't get away with anything but I called it in anyway.’

Kim smiled her thanks as he closed the door behind them.

Once outside the gate Bryant turned to her. ‘What was all that about? Didn’t you notice how he changed when we started to ask him about the girls? He couldn’t get us out of there quickly enough.’

‘It’s not what you think, Bryant.’

Kim walked across the road and turned, surveying the property. Of the seven houses, it was the only one with an alarm attached prominently to the front of the house. A passive infrared light and sensor was aimed directly at the gate. She had seen an identical sensor covering the rear of the property along with a six foot fence topped with cat spikes.

House breakers did not deliberately challenge themselves with the trickiest home available. And Kim did not believe in coincidences.

Bryant huffed. ‘You don’t know what I think because you didn’t give me chance to find out. He was nervous, Guv.’

Kim shook her head as she walked up the hill.

She passed Daniel Bate walking his dog back towards the car.

‘Hey, Detective, just can't keep away, eh?’

‘Yeah, Doc. I really can,’ she said, without breaking her stride.

‘Guv, what the hell is going on?’ Bryant asked her as they reached the car. ‘You don’t normally walk away from a challenge. That bloke was as nervous as hell and you just left it.’

‘Yes, I did.’

‘He all but physically removed us.’

‘Yes, Bryant, he did.’ She turned and glared at him over the roof of the car. ‘Because he needed to change the nappy on his fifteen-year-old daughter.’

Twenty-Seven

The care home was an exercise in symmetry. Inside the foyer was a glass hatch on either side. To Kim's right was a small empty office and to her left was a room holding a couple of desks and a woman wearing a black T-shirt. The gatekeeper.

‘Can I help?’ Kim was guessing she’d asked through the glass barrier that separated them.

‘Could we speak to one of your patients?’

The female shrugged, not understanding. Kim pointed to the sliding doors but the female shook her head and mouthed ‘emergency only.’

For a moment Kim felt as though they were trapped in some kind of decontamination chamber. She pointed to the inner set of doors.

The woman nodded and pointed to an open book on a ledge to the right of the window. She made a squiggle motion with her right hand. Kim guessed that was the instruction to sign in.

‘Remind me of the progress we’ve made in communications,’ Kim muttered to Bryant.

They signed in and waited for the buzzer.

As they entered Kim could see immediately that there were two communities. To the left were the more able-bodied residents. One or two moved around the area on walkers, other residents leaned across their wing-backed chairs engaging in conversation. Philip Schofield droned on about money management. Residents had turned and were looking in their direction; new faces.

To the right, there was very little sound. A nurse wheeled around a trolley dispensing medication. No one looked in their direction.

The woman from behind the glass stepped out of the office. She had donned a badge just above her left breast that read ‘Cath’.

‘How can I help you?’

‘We’d like to talk to one of your residents; Mary Andrews.’

Cath’s hand went to her throat. ‘Are you family members?’

‘Detectives,’ Bryant answered. He continued talking but the woman’s reaction brought a sick feeling to Kim’s stomach. They were too late.

‘I’m sorry, but Mary Andrews died ten days ago.’

Before any of this started, Kim thought – or perhaps it had been the start of it all.