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married. He was only young then. Scared the hell out of him so he gradually cut all ties with his friends, started his own company and hasn’t looked back since.’
    Allie wondered if there was anything to be found in Mickey’s abandoned friends, making a mental note to look into it.
    ‘Do you have any grandchildren, Mrs Taylor?’ she asked.
    ‘Yes, two boys. Three and two. My elder daughter’s – we had her when we were quite young.’
    ‘Has Mickey been playing games with them lately that involved spelling out words? You know, with the colourful magnetic letters that can be attached to a whiteboard?’
    ‘I don’t think so.’ Kath sniffed, her eyes filling with fresh tears. She looked at her mother. ‘Mickey wasn’t the best when it came to spelling. Why do you ask that?’
    ‘Does the letter E mean anything to you?’
    Kath and her mother glanced at each other again before both shaking their heads.
    ‘There was a plastic letter in the back pocket of Mickey’s jeans. We need to figure out if it was placed there by whoever did this to your husband or if it was there before Mickey went out.’
    ‘But, what . . . I . . . I – I don’t know.’ Kath burst into tears again. ‘I don’t know .’
    After a nod from Nick, Allie stood up, smoothing down her skirt. ‘There’ll be a family liaison officer with you shortly,’ she told them both, ‘to keep you informed as to where we are within the investigation. Once again, we’re so sorry for your loss.’
    ‘Whoever did this needs to rot in a cell,’ Mrs Clamortie said as she held on to her daughter again. ‘They shouldn’t be allowed to get away –’
    ‘Mum!’ The door opened and a teenage girl with a shock of red hair and wearing school uniform burst into the room. ‘Mum,’ she sobbed.
    Mrs Clamortie stood up quickly. ‘Molly.’
    Molly pushed past her to her mum. ‘Tell me it’s not true.’ Molly turned to Allie then. ‘Tell me!’
    With Mrs Taylor stumbling over her words, Allie took over. Years of experience in similar situations still never prepared her for the anguished cry of grief when it came.
    Leaving the house with Nick shortly after, Allie held in her own tears as they walked away.
    ‘Sometimes I hate my job,’ she told him. ‘That poor girl. So young to lose a father, and in such tragic circumstances.’
    ‘This is why we do this job.’ Nick shoved his hands into his coat pockets. ‘So we can get bastards who tear families apart.’
    ‘I hope we can clear this up quickly, even just to give them peace.’
    ‘Let’s concentrate on getting back whatever information we can ASAP. Someone must have seen something down there on the canal side. And we need a press release sorted while house-to-house is being carried out.’
    As they got into separate cars to make their way back to the station, Allie looked at the house one more time. Getting justice – that’s why she did her job. Justice for a wife, a daughter, a sister. And she would do her best to see that happened.

    ‘So what was he really like?’ Allie asked as she and Perry drove along Potteries Way towards Burslem later that afternoon.
    ‘Huh?’ Perry glanced at her with a frown before indicating to change lanes.
    ‘Mickey Taylor. Did you know him well? Were you one of his crowd? What did you get up to? Did the lay-dees like him too?’
    Perry sniggered. ‘You have such a nose for gossip.’
    ‘It’s my job!’
    ‘No, it isn’t. Besides, there’s nothing to tell. I knew him until I left school – haven’t seen him much at all since. I know his wife if it’s the same Kath that he was knocking off at school. He got her pregnant just before we left. And I know of his factory now I’ve Googled it, and that’s all really.’
    ‘Some detective you are,’ Allie tutted. She leaned forward to switch up the heater. ‘Well, this factory – legit, is it?’
    ‘It seems so. The website says he’s been in business for twenty years – won loads of awards.