‘I did – their details were in her flat – but they gave me short shrift when I called them. They said she had let them down badly.’

‘In what way?’

Nathan shrugged. ‘They wouldn’t say any more than that. It was over three months ago now, but whatever she did, they weren’t impressed – angry with her, I would say. I’m surprised, really. She seemed so happy with the job, and there are quite a few pictures of the baby in her flat. She wouldn’t have had them all over the place if she hadn’t been fond of him, so God knows what she did to piss them off.’

Tom felt a familiar prickle at the back of his neck. When someone did something that seemed out of character, it always made him wonder why. Had there been some traumatic event in Hannah’s life? Could it be coercion? For now he wasn’t going to mention those thoughts to her brother.

He waved the letter at Nathan. ‘She seems to have thought the retreat was good for her. Did she go there before or after she upset her employers?’

‘Before. She went at the end of September. As you’ll see, she talks about everything she learned about herself – including what a numpty she has for a brother, no doubt. She says the people there were great. One woman in particular had been very supportive. She was planning to see more of her when she got home.’

‘And home is Rusholme, didn’t you tell me the other day?’

‘It is. The heart of curry land. Her flat isn’t in such a good area, though. Had I known, paid more attention, I would have given her some money to move. Most of the flats around her are full of students who are years younger than her, and from what I can gather people come and go all the time. No one notices if anyone’s there or not.’

‘And you’ve told the missing-persons team all of this?’

‘Of course. I know nothing about the woman she met on the retreat, other than the fact that Hannah liked her. I get the feeling from the letter that she thought she’d made a new and important friend. But she doesn’t mention her name, and anyway there’s no reason to think she’d have any clue where Hannah might be now. Having said that, I’ve been trying to track her down to at least ask the question.’

Tom was quiet for a moment. Did Hannah’s participation in a mindfulness retreat signify that she was struggling with stress or unhappiness? Not necessarily. For some it was apparently about seeing the world with greater clarity, and Tom realised he was in danger of pigeonholing Hannah’s mental state to try to align it with Jasmine DuPont’s need for the support of the bereavement group. He had to focus on the facts.