‘She was different to how I expected. Although I don’t know how, exactly. I mean, I’d never met her before, but somehow I’d let myself believe we’d have this instant connection.’

‘It must have been awkward for her,’ Louise said. ‘For both of you, I guess. What do you say to someone you’ve known about all your life but you’ve never met?’

‘It’s sad, really,’ Dee said. ‘She’s my cousin. I should have been part of her life before now. But because of some stupid feud between our fathers, we’ve never had the chance to get to know each other.’

‘What happened between your dad and his brother? It must have been serious if they stopped speaking to each other.’

‘Dad wouldn’t ever talk about it,’ Dee said, ‘but over the years, Mum told me bits and pieces of what happened. From what I gather, Eamon – Dad’s brother – was a bit of a scoundrel. He was a heavy drinker who also had a gambling problem. He was always getting involved in dodgy deals that he thought would make him lots of money. At one point, he stole a lot of money from my grandparents. I don’t know how much exactly, but he left them with nothing. They had to sell their house – my dad’s family home. He was never able to forgive Eamon for what he’d done.’

‘How sad,’ Louise said. ‘For your dad, I mean. Not Eamon. He doesn’t sound worthy of anyone’s pity. At least you’ve got a chance to get to know Emer now. That’s a good thing, isn’t it?’

‘She’s had quite a troubled childhood,’ Dee said. ‘I think she’s a bit messed up, to be honest. Not surprising, I guess, with a father like that. And everything else that happened on top of that.’

‘Go on.’

Dee told Louise everything, starting with Emer seeing the woman on the Underground, and ending with what Dee had learned about Lucy Ryan – the girl who’d disappeared a few weeks before Kitty.

‘Wow,’ Louise said, when Dee finally stopped speaking. ‘That’s quite a story.’

‘What do you think?’

‘The whole thing sounds bonkers,’ Louise said. ‘The best way you can help Emer is by convincing her that her sister really is dead.’

‘I know that,’ Dee said. ‘But there are too many things that don’t add up. That woman – Annie – she’s clearly hiding something. Then there’s the strange coincidence of two young girls disappearing from the same town within a few weeks of each other.’

‘Except one of them didn’t disappear,’ Louise said. ‘She drowned. The only reason Emer thinks that woman could be her sister is because of the eyes. But heterochromia isn’t that uncommon, is it?’