‘No idea. She was in the seat next to me and I’d shared my wine gums with her, but I wouldn’t know her name. She was in a terrible state, I can tell you that. Hysterical at one point, but she wasn’t the only one. People had become separated in the confusion, many not knowing if their loved ones had made it out or not. I was glad I’d gone on my own. Outside, I heard a little boy crying out for Mrs Clarke, saying she was trapped, and it broke my heart – especially now we know what happened to poor Hilary.’ She paused for a moment and rubbed her arm as if she had a sudden chill. ‘I saw one man carrying a little girl in his arms. We all thought she was dead, but the paramedics started working on her straight away.’

‘Could it have been Amelia Parker? Did you read about her in last week’s paper?’

Carole pressed her chin to her chest, casting her eyes down to hide her tears. ‘I saw the article. It could very well have been her. God bless whoever saved that child.’

‘I don’t suppose you saw Amelia earlier on?’

‘Sorry.’

While Carole blew her nose, Leanne took a series of printouts from her rucksack. ‘If you don’t mind, I’d like you to look at some photos to see if you recognise anyone else.’ She passed Carole an image of Angela Morris. ‘Do you recall seeing this lady? She was someone who became separated from her friends.’

‘Isn’t she one of the victims?’ Carole asked, taking the sheet of paper. It trembled briefly in her hand before she handed it back. ‘No, I didn’t see her, or if I did, I can’t place her. The problem was we were all covered in dust and the emergency lighting wasn’t that strong.’

‘And how about this lady?’ Leanne asked, offering a photo of Lena Kowalski. ‘She’s another one who didn’t make it out.’

‘I’m afraid not. Most of what happened is a blur. I could have come nose to nose with Elvis Presley in one of his white sequined suits for all I know.’

Leanne was ready to leave it there, but her conversation with Beth a couple of days before was playing on her mind. ‘Have you heard of Claudia Rothwell?’

‘Who hasn’t? Did you see her on BBC Breakfast this morning? I don’t watch the other side, that Piers Morgan gets on my nerves.’

Leanne didn’t know about the TV interview, but wasn’t surprised. Claudia was grabbing as much media attention as she could, albeit for a good cause. ‘Do you remember seeing Claudia inside the theatre?’

Carole shook her head. ‘I’m afraid not.’