The accusation hung in the air unspoken, that he had gone away for two or three days, leaving his unstable wife and six-month-old baby alone at home. Jessica was crying so much she could barely string two words together, but even so Geraldine had the impression that Anne was used to speaking for her daughter. Back in her car, Geraldine studied the list Jessica had given her. Since Daisy’s birth, the most frequent visitor to the house had been Jessica’s health visitor. Geraldine went to talk to her next, in the expectation that she would be an expert and independent observer of Jessica and her baby.

It was the weekend, and Geraldine found Mary Spinner at home. Mary was in her fifties, thin and single, with no children of own. With a kindly gentle manner, she resembled a middle-aged aunt rather than a health visitor. As soon as she understood who was calling, and why, she invited Geraldine in.

‘This is a shocking business,’ she said, gazing at Geraldine with a mournful expression. ‘Shocking. Do you have any idea what has happened to poor Baby?’

She referred to Daisy as though Baby was her name, a habit she had perhaps acquired through having too many babies’ names to commit to memory. While she was speaking, she ushered Geraldine into a small front room, neatly furnished with chintz armchairs and a low wooden table.

‘We’re building a picture of the family, and the circumstances of the baby’s disappearance,’ Geraldine replied, saying nothing about the stains on Daisy’s sheet.

The officers associated with the case were under instructions to say nothing about what had been found inside the cot. The sheet and mattress had been sent away for forensic examination, and until they heard otherwise, they were all hoping the marks had been made by wine or food of some kind. It was the kind of detail that would be of interest to the media, and Eileen judged it best to keep the case out of the public eye until they had some idea what they were dealing with. So far the baby had been missing for at least twenty-eight hours.

‘Baby was healthy,’ the health visitor assured Geraldine, as though that was the most important information. ‘She was gaining weight nicely, and sat up unaided at three months. Mother weaned her from the breast at four months which is perhaps a little earlier than we recommend these days, but longer than many mothers manage. I hesitate to say it’s probably just as well, given what’s happened,’ she added solemnly. ‘Baby was sleeping well, not unduly bothered by her teeth, and really everything was progressing nicely.’

Geraldine recalled Anne saying Jessica had not been getting much sleep.

‘Was Daisy sleeping through the night?’ she asked.