After that, I was taken back to my cell, and I finally managed to get my head down for a while. It can’t have been for long, because I wake up feeling worse than I did before. But at least I’ve got everything out there. I’ve got it all off my chest. It’s officially on police records now. And I just hope and pray they’ll get in touch with Jess and corroborate everything.

A short while later, my cell door opens and McKenna’s standing in the doorway.

‘Grace. Time to go,’ she says.

‘What do you mean?’

‘You’re free to go. We’re satisfied no crime was committed.’

‘What do you mean no crime was committed? Did you listen to the recordings on the pens?’

‘No pens were found, Grace. We had officers search your property, but there weren’t any recording pens in your kitchen or living room. Only a couple of biros on the kitchen table.’

My face drops. Tom found them. He got there first, and got rid of them.

‘So you don’t believe me?’

McKenna steps into the cell and sits down on the hard “bed” next to me. ‘We do, as it happens. We take these sorts of things extremely seriously. We’ve got officers on patrol looking for Tom as we speak.’

‘What do you mean looking for him? He went to hospital, didn’t he?’

McKenna shuffles awkwardly. ‘He did, and he was discharged as he didn’t have any injuries requiring treatment.’

‘So why wasn’t he arrested at that point?’

‘Because he’d been discharged before we spoke to you about the abuse, Grace. I know. I’m disappointed too. But all we can do now is find Tom, arrest him and put your allegations to him.’

‘Can I stay here until you find him?’

‘I wish it was that simple. I’d struggle to justify keeping you in a cell when you’ve been cleared of any crime at the best of times, but we’ve just had word that we’ve got a bunch of football hooligans being brought in after a brawl outside the cup match tonight. Is there somewhere safe you can go?’

I run through a few options in my mind. I can’t go home, because Tom could be there. He knows where my parents live, so that’s not an option either. ‘I could go to my friend’s place,’ I say. ‘Cath Baker. There’ll be three of us then, and she lives in a flat so he wouldn’t even be able to get as far as her front door. She only lives the other side of Tesco’s. I could be there in less than two minutes.’

‘Okay. We’ll need to take a note of the address so we know where you are. Would you like someone to escort you there?’

I think about this for a moment before answering. ‘Does Tom know I’m here?’

‘No. He knows you were arrested, but he doesn’t know which station you’re in or that you’re being released. No-one’s been able to get hold of him for hours.’