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do that. Are you going back to the station?”
    “I’m nipping home first, get some breakfast. I’ll be back in about an hour with the team.”
    Greco nodded. Speedy made for his car. Greco went back into the house. “What else did she have in her bag, apart from the licence?” he asked Roxy.
    “Just some make-up and a few coins.”
    “No phone?”
    “No, and that’s odd given her age. You know what they’re like, these kids.”
    “Let me take a photo of the licence. I’ll visit the address shortly and speak to the parents.”
    “I don’t envy you that one,” Natasha said. “You must really hate that part of the job.”
    Greco nodded. She had no idea how much.
    “The PM will be later today, but she’ll need identifying officially first. Let me know when you’ve found her next of kin.”
    The prospect of having to give some unsuspecting parents the dreadful news turned Greco’s stomach.
    “Inspector!” It was Roxy Atkins. “There is what looks like the remains of a mobile phone in the fire embers. The plastic bits have melted, but we still might get something.”
    “He must have thrown it in there. She could have called someone or sent a text. Get onto the service provider for the records, will you?”
    Roxy nodded.
    Greco decided that he’d go home before going to the station. He doubted that he could eat any breakfast. He wanted to clean up again, and to catch Suzy and Matilda before they left.
    * * *
    “More mayhem?” Suzy said.
    “The very worst. Don’t ask. The details are sickening.” He whispered this so his daughter wouldn’t hear.
    “Why couldn’t you have gone into teaching, or social work or something, Stephen? I don’t think police work is doing you any good.”
    “It’s the choice I made. I can’t do anything else.” This was an old argument and he didn’t want to have it now.
    “You’re not coping. Your colleagues don’t see it, but I do. You need to think about it. Stress is a killer.”
    He didn’t reply. Matilda was in her uniform, ready for school. He picked her up and spun her around. “Got anything exciting on today, Tillyflop?”
    “I’ve got to write a story about Mortimer, then I have to read it out to the class,” she told him proudly. “He’s been really good and eaten all his breakfast.”
    “We’ll have to leave,” Suzy said. “I’ll drop Matilda off and get into college early if you’re sure you can manage. This staff development is all about a college inspection so I’d better show my face.”
    “I can take her if it helps,” Greco said.
    “We have to take Mortimer too,” said Matilda.
    “He can sit in the back with you.”
    “Are you sure, Stephen? You look very edgy. Do you need some time before you go back to work?”
    “No. It’s better if I just get on with things.”
    “Look, why not shower and change and I’ll make some coffee. Half an hour won’t hurt. Matilda doesn’t have to be there until nine.”
    There was no way he could hide anything from Suzy. She saw it all. “We are okay, aren’t we?” he said.
    “Yes. Stop worrying.”
    “Only, after yesterday I thought perhaps you wanted all this to stop.”
    “No. I’m fine. But you are not easy to live with, are you? Work comes first, it always has. You can’t blame me, Stephen. It was work that got in the way the last time.”
    “It’s what the job is. Crime doesn’t do nine to five.”
    “But you could, if you did something else.”
    So there it was. She wasn’t happy with him staying in the force. So why not just come out and say it? They would have to talk some more — but not now.
    By the time Greco returned to the sitting room he was feeling better. Suzy was staring out of the window at a car parked across the road. He had a look. He wasn’t sure but it could be the press. What they hoped to gain by following him home he could only guess at.
    “If that man in the car is press, this is harassment. Don’t speak to him — about anything,” he said.