‘I’m afraid it would have been the theatre company who provided that information, but I’m still in contact with some of the staff. From what I gather, they looked at payment transactions, so the information won’t be complete. Customers would have bought groups of tickets, and there were cash sales too.’

‘And complimentary tickets.’

‘Absolutely,’ replied Phillipa with a curious smile.

‘Could you obtain a seating plan for me?’

‘It would be a breach of data protection,’ she replied, appearing to dismiss the request out of hand. ‘So if you do happen to receive one, it couldn’t have come from me.’

‘I’ll bear that in mind.’

Leanne drained her cup and, as she placed it on the silver tray, she noticed the papers again. ‘Have you read Amelia Parker’s story?’

‘It’s very hard to avoid it.’

‘Someone mentioned that Ronson Construction had merchandise that was very similar to the key ring torch Amelia describes.’

‘They gave away anything one could stamp with a logo,’ Phillipa said with a shrug, but then her expression changed. ‘Actually, yes, I do remember those.’

‘You don’t happen to have one, do you?’

‘Do you honestly think I’d collect that kind of rubbish?’

‘No, I don’t imagine someone like you would,’ Leanne said. It was the last hint she would drop. She had shared as much as she could. ‘I think that’s it then. Thank you for your time.’

Leanne hadn’t been obliged to take off her footwear on entering the house, so when Phillipa showed her to the door, there was no awkward wait for her to lace up her boots. ‘Will you be at home for a while?’ she asked, her parting question.

‘It won’t be my home for much longer. The house is about to go on the market and we have our eye on something just outside Wilmslow. My intention is to remain until we have everything packed up and ready to go.’

‘You’re leaving Sedgefield for good?’ Leanne said, surprised that the prospect didn’t provide the level of glee she would have expected.

‘I’d say it’s for the best, wouldn’t you?’ Phillipa asked. ‘And I’m sure there will be someone to fill the breach.’

20

Leanne cast a long shadow across the small patch of lawn in front of the Parkers’ house, aware that another day was ending without any real progress. She hadn’t expected to receive Phillipa’s seating plan after only twenty-four hours, nor was she surprised that Claudia continued to ignore her calls, but she had to do something. She was pinning her hopes on one little girl’s broken memory.