While she is absent from the room, I have a look around. Framed photographs, mainly of her daughter, line the walls at eye level; a young Anna treading the boards in a primary school play, perhaps where she fell in love with the thespian lifestyle. Another photo shows teenage Anna with her mother and father, posing near the edge of the Grand Canyon. The final photo shows adult Anna, posing in a flowing, blue ball gown, thrusting an award towards the camera with a look of pride on her face.

The tinkle of china announces Linda’s return to the room. She shuffles in carrying a tray containing three willow-patterned mugs, which she sets on the glass table in the middle of the room before distributing the drinks from a matching teapot.

I set mine on the table so that it can cool and take a seat on the sofa beside Liam, whilst our host sinks into the chair opposite. Now that I get a good look at her, I can see that her thin body doesn’t look fit after all. She looks emaciated, probably down to not eating for the past few weeks. Her bones protrude from under stretched, pale skin. Dark rings under her eyes signal that she probably hasn’t slept very much in the recent past either.

‘Have you found him yet?’ she asks with a sigh, though she almost certainly knows the answer already.

‘Not yet, but that’s why we’re here,’ I answer.

‘I’ll do whatever I can to help,’ she replies, reaching for the box of tissues on the floor beside her chair and dabbing under her eyes.

‘I know you have already been through this with our colleagues, but we appreciate anything you can tell us,’ Liam smiles. I take out a notepad and a pen, pulling the lid off with my teeth.

‘Can you tell us about Anna’s visit to Manchester?’

Linda looks confused. ‘I’ve already told the police about this.’

I nod. ‘I understand, but it would be very helpful to hear it first-hand.’

She takes a deep breath, readying herself once again to delve into her despair.

‘Well, her boyfriend was going away on business for a week or so, so she thought she’d come up and spend some time with me. Since her father died a few years ago, I’ve been on my own and haven’t seen a lot of her, she’s been so busy. We had a lovely few days, she treated me to a day at the spa; champagne, full body massage, the works… it was magic. On the last night,’ she suppresses a sob, ‘she was on the phone to Rory, that’s her man, and they had a bit of an argument. They’ve had their ups and downs over the years. Anyway, once she’d hung up, she phoned a friend and then went upstairs to get ready to go out. As she left the house, she told me not to wait up and hugged me. That was the last time I saw her alive.’