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prefabricated metal building with a concrete floor, which had been stripped of all plant and machinery that it might once have contained, so all that remained were a few empty shelves, a two-year-old calendar on the wall, discarded plastic bags, a few isolated pieces of paper on the floor and a chemical toilet, without any form of enclosure, furthest from the entrance doorway, in the corner. A length of medium weight chain was attached to the wall close to the toilet. Two shorter lengths of a lighter gauge chain and four small brass padlocks lay on the floor, also close to the toilet.
    â€˜Two short lengths of lightweight chain to bind her feet and hands –’ Yellich pointed them out to Hennessey, ‘well, to bind her wrists and ankles, I should say.’
    â€˜Better,’ Hennessey turned to Yellich and smiled – ‘but I knew what you meant.’
    â€˜Yes, sir . . . and a larger length of chain to stop her wandering too far about the floor or escaping. The lightweight chain is of sufficient length to allow her a little freedom of movement, I would think.’
    â€˜Yes.’ Hennessey looked at the interior of the metal shed. There was, he noted, with no small amount of dismay, no source of heating nor any form of comfort. The woman had just the cold concrete floor to lie or stand or sit on. The floor area was large enough to accommodate, he guessed, perhaps five or six average size cars, and the length of chain he further guessed would have permitted her to access approximately half that area. The shed itself was one of five similar sheds, and occupied a remote location on the eastern edge of the city of York, some two or three miles from the nearest occupied dwelling, or so it appeared to Hennessey.
    â€˜All the other units are empty, sir,’ Yellich spoke quietly. ‘That is to say, they are not in current use. They are all solidly padlocked up. It seems to have been a small-scale industrial estate, now abandoned. This particular shed had been broken into, someone had forced entry.’
    â€˜I see . . .’ Hennessey murmured and then said, ‘It explains the electricity bill.’
    â€˜Yes, sir, she had quite a presence of mind, as you say.’
    â€˜Yes . . . she was kept here for two days or at least not fed for the last two days she was here . . . not allowed water either.’
    â€˜Two days?’
    â€˜Yes, so Dr D’Acre estimates by the absence of food in the stomach and the shrunken kidneys . . . no food or water for forty-eight hours. She would have been very cold and much weakened by the absence of sustenance. She would not have had the strength to shout, no one would hear her if she did and who would wander up here? It is too remote to be of interest to teenage vandals, and it is the wrong time of year anyway. Vandalism tends to be a summer and autumn activity, as we know, and the criminal fraternity would know the sheds had been stripped bare, that is assuming that the others are as empty as this one.’
    â€˜We still have to check them, sir.’
    â€˜Yes, better make sure none of the others contain any bad news. Is SOCO on its way?’
    â€˜Yes, sir, hopefully they won’t get lost this time,’ Yellich added with a smile.
    â€˜Good. She died of exposure by the way, froze to death as we first thought.’
    â€˜I see, sir.’
    â€˜But strangled prior to that and then taken out of doors and left for dead.’ Hennessey pointed to a length of electricity cable which lay snake-like on the floor. ‘Have you touched that?’
    â€˜No, sir.’
    â€˜Don’t. The person who kept her here didn’t pick up after himself . . . the chain, the padlocks, it’s all here and that cable was probably used to strangle her. It’s all still here. It’ll be much too much to hope that the murderer left his dabs on the chain or the locks or the cable, but ask