‘Can I ask you a question? Do you know if a baby called Albie was kidnapped some time around November last year? That’s what they said Hannah had done, but she can’t remember.’

The inspector shakes her head. ‘Nothing springs to mind, but I’ll check it out.’ She swivels a laptop to face me. ‘DCI Douglas, my boss, asked me to look into Thea and Garrick Atwell. I’m going to share this with you because it’s the result of a Google search and not restricted information. Did you know that Garrick was a psychiatrist?’

I nod. ‘Retired, I think, but he still liked to practise on all of us women.’

‘Not retired, Callie. Struck off. Read this article. It was only written last year, but it exposes malpractice over the last fifteen years. A number of psychiatrists were named. Garrick Atwell is one of them. I’ll leave it with you.’

I see sympathy in her eyes as she leaves the room. She must know something about Garrick’s methods. I look away from her pity, and I begin to read.

The piece begins with information about his training and background. It takes a while to get to the meat of the article, which focuses on statements from several patients. Each in turn comments on Dr Atwell’s obsession with trust, the treatments that he prescribed and how he encouraged them to loosen or even remove their clothes during a session, to free them from restraint, encourage self-respect and demonstrate their trust.

A shudder runs through my body. I think of myself lying on his couch, listening to his words wash over me, telling me to loosen the cord of my tracksuit bottoms. I want to stop reading, but I can’t.

“My actions have been taken totally out of context,” Dr Atwell said when interviewed. “Trust is an essential part of any close relationship and all barriers have to be broken down. I am writing a thesis on the subject, and I am confident that I can prove my point. I will continue with my work, using willing volunteers who are happy to put their faith in me.”

I wasn’t a willing volunteer, though. If I had decided to stay, I would have been forced to become a guinea pig for the good doctor and a servant for his wife. I feel a lurch in my stomach, and for a moment I think I am going to be sick. But then the last sentence catches my eye and drives all other thoughts from my head.

Garrick Atwell lives in south Manchester. He has never married.

CHAPTER 65

65

The track leading to the Atwell house was silent. A breeze rustled the dry leaves of the tall beech hedge that bordered the property. In the distance Tom heard the bark of a fox. Despite the impressive house and its beautiful grounds, it felt like a lonely, isolated place.