‘He was always shouting at her,’ the woman replied, ‘and we used to hear her screaming the place down. They were terrible neighbours. Really terrible. You have no idea. They were one of the reasons we moved.’

‘Did they know you reported them?’

‘I don’t know if they knew it was us. We debated whether or not to do anything about it, but in the end we decided enough was enough. We wanted someone to warn them to keep the noise down. It was a disgrace, the way they carried on. Talk about bad neighbours.’

‘Do you know what they used to argue about?’

Alice shook her head. ‘All we could hear was her screeching at him not to touch her, and him yelling at her not to do it again, but we never did find out what it was she was supposed to have done.’

Geraldine was not surprised to hear that the marriage had apparently been unhappy. The information seemed to confirm the suspicion that Jason had most likely run off with the baby, without a care for his wife’s suffering. Having learned all she could from Alice, Geraldine returned to York and drove straight to Jessica’s house.

‘Sergeant,’ Jessica greeted her, forcing a smile. Her face was flushed and her expression tense. ‘I hope you have good news for me. I’m going out of my mind with worry about Daisy.’ Her mask of composure slipped and she started forward in desperation. ‘Please –’ she cried out, and her voice broke. Taking a deep shuddering breath, she continued, ‘Please find my baby.’

‘I’d like to speak to you,’ Geraldine said gently. ‘Not about Daisy.’

‘What do you mean?’ Jessica scowled and looked as if she was going to shut the door, but Geraldine stepped forward smartly to prevent it closing, and followed her into the living room where Jessica slumped down on the floor, weeping, with her head in her hands. Magazines were scattered over the carpet, and on the table a plate of chips had grown cold. A scummy film had developed on a half-drunk cup of coffee which had spilt, leaving a damp brown pool that would probably stain the table.

‘Jessica,’ Geraldine said gently, sitting down opposite the weeping woman. ‘Jessica, I’ve been talking to Alice Whittaker.’

‘Who’s Alice Whittaker?’ Jessica asked.

‘She used to live next door.’

‘I’m not interested in hearing anything she has to say.’

‘I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you a few questions before I leave. Can you tell me what happened to cause Alice to call the police?’

Jessica let her hands fall from a face red and blotchy with crying.