They hadn’t had any sort of argument but had become different people. It was hard to meet without remembering what had happened. They gradually went from seeing each other every day, to meeting once a week, to talking on the phone, to swapping text messages. Before long those had dried up but, after over a year of almost no contact, Caroline had called to say she was getting married and asking if Jessica would be a bridesmaid.

It was a shock to Jessica given she didn’t even know her friend was in a relationship but, from there, they had gradually come to know each other again. A lot of the back-and-forth had initially been wedding-related but Jessica was pleased they were beginning to talk about things as mates again. Neither of them had ever spoken about Randall and Jessica had no plans to do so. She had only met Caroline’s fiancé Thomas once before and that was brief, so tonight her friend had invited her around to get together properly.

‘How is Tom?’ Jessica asked.

‘Same old. He says he’s excited about the wedding but you never really know with blokes, do you? He’s started writing a book in his spare time.’

‘What is it he does again?’

‘He works in television production just over the water. He’s only got a five-minute walk to work. All right for some, isn’t it?’ Jessica thought about her own commute and couldn’t disagree. Before she could say anything, Caroline continued, ‘What about you? Are you helping to find that MP’s wife that’s been all over the news?’

‘No, I’m on something else at the moment.’

Caroline made a ‘hmm’ sound as she started to stir something in a saucepan that was simmering on the hob. ‘Have you got a bloke on the go yet?’

Jessica didn’t want to dwell on the issue. ‘Not at the moment, I’m too busy working.’

Her friend glanced up from the saucepan, smiling. ‘Come on, there must’ve been somebody?’

Jessica let out an involuntary sigh. ‘There was this guy Adam but it didn’t work out.’

‘That’s a shame. What happened?’

‘Not much, just work things.’

A few years ago, Jessica wouldn’t have hesitated to tell her friend everything but she didn’t feel comfortable opening up yet, given their distance. The reason she and Adam had split was entirely down to her. She had been working on a case and made some terrible assumptions and mistakes. Her paranoia had got on top of her and she asked Adam to break the law for her. He had done it but at the expense of their relationship. Losing him and trying to reconcile the way she acted was something that had stayed with her in the seven months or so since. Every now and then she would get a text message out of the blue and hope it was him but he hadn’t contacted her since and she had to respect his wishes.

Before Caroline could ask any further questions there was the sound of the front door opening and a man’s voice saying, ‘Hello’. Caroline called out, ‘In here’ and her fiancé walked into the kitchen.

‘Hey, hon,’ he said.

‘All right?’ Caroline replied.

‘I was talking to your bridesmaid,’ he said with a wink.

Jessica had first been introduced to him by his full name, Thomas Bateman. While the two women were both in their early thirties, Tom was in his early forties. The only thing that gave away his age was his greying hair. He was fit and athletic with a grin that made him look years younger. Caroline had always gone for younger men and this was the first time Jessica had known her go out with anyone older.

He leant in and kissed her on the cheek. ‘Nice to meet you again, Jessica,’ he said.

Jessica smiled back. ‘Jess is fine.’

‘Oi, where’s mine?’ Caroline said with a grin of her own, patting her lips. Tom walked over to her and kissed her on the forehead.

The meal itself was terrific – as it always was when Caroline cooked. As the three of them ate on the balcony looking out at the sun reflecting off the water, Jessica remembered how good her friend’s culinary skills were. She had become so used to eating takeaways and microwaved meals and, while they sat, ate and chatted, Jessica realised how much she missed having a best friend. The sun stayed high and Caroline opened a bottle of wine that she shared with Tom. Jessica never had anything alcoholic when she was driving and turned down a glass. Caroline’s fiancé was genuinely funny and had the two women giggling frequently. Jessica found herself warming to him greatly but couldn’t help but wonder if Caroline had been drawn to him on the rebound. Ultimately she had been out of her friend’s life for too long to know for sure but it had only been two years ago their lives had been torn apart by Randall and now she was on the brink of marrying someone else.

Jessica kept her thoughts to herself, trying to relax. The sun had only just begun to dip below the building opposite when her phone rang. She looked over at her two hosts to make sure they didn’t mind her taking the call but Caroline gave her a thumbs-up.

‘Hello,’ Jessica said.

A man’s voice spoke. ‘Hi, this is Charlie Marks. I hope it’s not too late to call you?’

‘No, it’s fine. What are you after?’ She had phoned him the evening before to confirm it was his brother’s hand that had been found. She had been wary about him having her mobile number and hoped he wouldn’t be someone who constantly pestered her with how the case was going. As it was, she needn’t have worried.

‘You remember the names you gave me to look at yesterday, Lewis Barnes and January Forrester?’ Charlie said. ‘I think I’ve found a link to my brother.’

9

Jessica went directly to the Markses’ home the next morning. From where she lived in Didsbury, Charlie’s house was around ten miles away. There was little point going to the station then driving back out again, so she’d messaged Dave and Izzy to tell them she was going to be late. There was plenty for them to be working on in any case.

Her morning commute was a lot easier than usual as she was driving away from the centre rather than towards it. As she got closer to the address on Ed Marks’s file, the size of the properties noticeably grew. There were lots of houses with large imposing gates at the front to maintain privacy and all of the homes seemed to have sprawling gardens. Jessica wasn’t sure exactly where it was but there was an area locally known as ‘Millionaire’s Row’ somewhere nearby where rich locals would buy patches of land and develop their own properties. The place she was visiting wasn’t quite in that area but it wasn’t far off and the obvious wealth was astonishing.

Jessica had checked directions before leaving but didn’t own a satellite navigation system of her own. She was struggling to find the address, partly because of the large gaps between houses and partly because a lot of the properties had names instead of numbers. She pulled over to ask someone walking their dog but whoever the person was sped up and ignored her, clearly concerned about why someone with such an old vehicle would be driving in an affluent area. While she sat in her car, she tried to load a maps application on her phone but the signal was so poor, it took too long to work. In the end she continued driving before realising the Markses’ house was on the opposite side of the road from where she had been looking. She had already driven past it three times without noticing.

Around two-thirds of the properties on the road had big gates at the front but she could pull straight onto the Markses’ driveway. A large tree at the front of the garden obscured the view from the road and you could have comfortably fitted a dozen cars nose-to-tail on the drive given its length. The tarmac was flanked on both sides by long patches of grass that were turning brown and beginning to look a little overgrown. The drive was empty apart from Jessica’s car, although there was a large garage at the end of it that, from the width of the door, could have comfortably accommodated three vehicles.