‘I told you before—’

‘Yeah, yeah, she’s not a granny. Anyway, how’s it going?’

‘She broke it off. It was probably for the best. With her further up north, neither of us fancied the travelling and it wasn’t really worth it. We had a good time. Don’t worry, I’m not going to jump you if that’s what you’re worried about.’

‘I’d be more worried about you jumping Archie with the way you make eyes at him.’

At the other end of the street, the traffic lights flicked from green to amber back to red again, bathing the car in a bright chestnut glow.

Jessica closed her eyes again. ‘Where is Archie with those chips?’

‘He’s only been gone a few minutes.’

‘He could’ve run. I’m starving here.’ Jessica expected a comeback regarding the size of her arse but it didn’t happen. When she glanced sideways at Dave to make sure he was listening, his face was pressed against the misty glass. ‘You’re not licking the windows again, are you?’

Dave frantically rubbed the condensation away and pointed to the end of the street. ‘Can you see that van?’

‘I had my eyes fixed, remember?’

‘Look at the logo on the side.’

Jessica leant across the handbrake, pressing her elbow into his thigh accidentally and squinting into the night. ‘Is that . . . ?’

Jessica wasn’t sure but Dave sounded certain: ‘It’s your logo.’

31

The traffic lights changed to green and the van surged forward, sending a cloud of exhaust fumes hurtling into the air.

‘What are you waiting for?’ Jessica shouted, trying to untangle herself from the seatbelt again. ‘Follow that van.’

Dave was clumsily trying to turn the key. ‘What about Archie?’

‘He’s going to have a lot of chips to eat. Go – quickly – they’re getting away.’

Dave stalled the car, much to Jessica’s annoyance, and then finally made the engine squawk to life, before bunny-hopping away from the kerb and accelerating to the end of the street, then turning onto the main road. In the distance, the van was racing away from them at a speed well above the 30 m.p.h. limit.

Jessica was straining against her seatbelt, trying to get a better view of the van. ‘You do know the accelerator pedal’s on the right?’

‘I’m on it! It’s not my fault the car’s shite.’

‘Do you need to swap seats?’

‘God, no. I’ve not recovered from the last time.’

‘So put your foot down then.’

Dave did just that, shutting Jessica up as the back of her head bounced off the headrest and he raced across a junction. Being Manchester, Jessica’s agitation was entirely misplaced as the van quickly ground to a halt at another set of traffic lights. Dave eased off the pedal and Jessica radioed the backup vehicle to say they had been called away to follow up an alternative line of inquiry. She consoled them by saying that she had specifically asked Archie to treat them to sausage and chips and that they could thank her later.

Just as they eased in behind the van, the lights turned green and it accelerated again. Jessica reached forward and wiped the condensation away. The rear door of the van had once been white but the lower half was now covered in a grimy layer of filth. Someone had fingered the words ‘Your mum’s dirtier than this’ into the muck but the top half was almost clean, the three-pronged logo stencilled clearly into the upper corner. In crisp, dark letters, a company’s name was equally clear next to it: ‘BUNCE ’N’ BUILDERS’, along with a website and a phone number.

Jessica picked up her phone and started tapping away, complaining about the reception, and telling Dave to make sure he followed the van without making it look like they were following it.

‘It was only a minute ago you were telling me to floor it,’ he complained.

Jessica ignored him, skim-reading the company’s official website. ‘It’s just a normal building company with the usual “phone-this-number-if-you-want-us-to-rip-you-off” spiel. There’s no address but there is a list of made-up awards. What type of people give out awards to building companies? “The winner of this year’s best brick award goes to . . .”’

‘They’re out a bit late, aren’t they?’

‘They probably disappeared for lunch and got carried away.’

‘I suppose they could be returning it to the depot?’

‘How do you mean?’

‘It’s a Friday night. Some places have a fleet of vans that they leave in a central place for the weekend. It’s still late to be out and about but it’s only likely to be the company’s owner working this late if it’s a one-man operation.’

‘How do you know so much about builders?’

‘Not building; my dad was a plumber. He used to have to drop a van off every Friday night at his boss’s house and then pick it up again on Monday morning.’

‘Does that mean you could’ve been a plumber?’

‘I suppose.’

‘What happened? You turned up on time for the first day of training and they failed you on the spot?’

Dave burst out laughing but kept an eye on the road and followed the van around a corner, following a sign for Chadderton and the M62.

Jessica’s phone burst to life, with Archie’s name flashing up. As soon as Jessica pressed the button to answer, the DC’s voice screeched through. ‘What happened to you?’

‘Important business.’

‘I’ve got a giant bag of chips here.’

‘So what are you complaining about? There’s a van of underdressed constables who’ll treat you like a conquering hero if you share with them.’

There was a pause as Archie digested her words before responding. ‘Good point.’

The line went dead, with Jessica staring at the blank screen before repocketing it. ‘He sounds happy.’

Dave continued to focus on the road, easing off the accelerator so that he didn’t get too close to the van. ‘Lucky sod.’

Just as Jessica thought the van was about to join the motorway, it took a turn, heading onto a country road with no street lights. Dave dropped back further, steering carefully along the tight turns as the rows of houses were replaced by trees and high bushes. They drove in silence, both unfamiliar with the area. After five more minutes, the van’s brake lights glinted brightly in the dark as it slowed to a near halt. Dave had no option other than to keep driving past the address but Jessica managed a solid glance at the sprawling mansion set back from the road before it was gone. She continued to watch through the rear window as the van pulled off the road onto the driveway. Dave slowed and performed an impressive one-handed U-turn and then turned the headlights off as he eased the car back the way they had come, parking under the shadow of a tree on the opposite side of the road from the house.

The only light came from the faint glimmer of the moon trying to fight its way through the clouds and the glow from within the house. Jessica got out of the car, stepping into a muddy puddle and flinching as it squelched through her socks. She hauled her foot out of the sludge and crept across the road, sticking to the shadows until she was standing next to the gatepost.

Dave slotted in behind her. ‘What are we doing?’

‘Shhh. I don’t know yet.’

The driver of the van had already climbed out and was using a remote control to raise the door of a wide garage on the right-hand side of the grounds. His feet crunched distractingly across the gravel as Jessica took in the scene.

The house was enormous – three storeys high and twenty windows wide. At the front were a fountain and a turning circle. Jessica couldn’t look at properties this large without thinking of a different mansion . . . a different time. She blinked the drowning feeling away, pinching the webbing between the thumb and forefinger of her left hand, forcing herself to focus. This was a different house.