That evening Geraldine and Ian watched the local news headlines at home. The first item involved a fight outside a pub where two drunken youths had ended up in hospital. That was followed by a brief mention of David Armstrong, whose death was considered newsworthy since he had been a public figure of some standing. After that, a photograph of Ella appeared on the screen.

‘Police are looking for a young mother who might be in trouble and in urgent need of medical assistance,’ the presenter said evenly. ‘She goes by the name of Ella, although she may be using a false identity, and she is believed to be travelling with a baby. If anyone knows where she is, please contact your local police station without delay, or call the number displayed on the screen.’

It was a neat way of asking for information, without focusing on the missing baby at the heart of the investigation. There was no point in mentioning Daisy by name. Ella was probably using a false name for herself and Daisy, if she still had her.

Geraldine would have liked to work on finding Daisy. Even though a murderer – possibly two – could be on the loose, the missing baby seemed more urgent a case. But there was not much she could do. A massive hunt was now under way, with numerous officers drafted in from surrounding forces to help with the door-to-door questioning, the search of the area surrounding Ella’s lodgings, and the scrutiny of hours and hours of closed circuit television film from local stations and bus stops. So far no positive sighting had been made, but the search was not going to be called off until every inch of the vicinity had been explored.

Meanwhile, Geraldine was sent to speak to the Armstrongs’ doctor. The surgery was not far from the police station. It was a lovely day, and she would have liked to walk there, but she couldn’t afford to spend the time so unproductively. She arrived at the surgery and went straight up to the reception desk, where a couple of people were waiting.

‘Hey, there’s a queue,’ a disgruntled patient called out.

Without acknowledging the complainant, Geraldine held up her identity card to the receptionist and asked to speak to the relevant doctor.

‘Do you have an appointment?’ the young woman behind the desk replied.

Geraldine sighed. When she had first been promoted to the rank of detective inspector, she had quite enjoyed parading her position. These days it just felt dreary. She wasn’t sure if that change was due to the response she received from the public, who seemed increasingly hostile towards the police, or if it was because she herself had become less excited about her role since her demotion. Probably it was a combination of the two. Now she held up her identity card again, right in front of the receptionist’s eyes.