‘Ian, it’s nearly midnight. Where are you? What’s happened?’

‘I can’t explain right now. I only called because I don’t want you to worry. Everything’s fine.’

‘How can you say everything’s fine when you’ve gone off without a word, leaving me to –’

‘I’ll explain as soon as I can.’

‘Ian, what’s going on?’

‘It’s complicated.’

‘Ian, talk to me. I need to know you’re all right.’

‘It’s fine. I’m fine. Don’t worry.’

Before she could reply, he rang off. Clearly everything was far from fine, but she still had no idea what had happened. Helpless and miserable, she resisted the temptation to phone him back to demand an explanation. Instead, she went to bed and spent a restless night worrying about what might have happened to prompt this unexpected breakdown in their relationship, so serious that he wouldn’t even talk to her, when she had been confident that everything was going well between them. She could hardly believe she had been so wrong about him. She could not help recalling how she had felt there was something odd about Jason concealing his movements from Jessica. Geraldine had interpreted that as a sign of an unhealthy relationship. The suspicion that Ian was behaving in exactly the same way filled her with apprehension.

On Monday morning she arrived at work early hoping to speak to Ian on his own, but he wasn’t in his office. Eileen called a briefing and there was no opportunity to speak to him before the team gathered. When she saw him in the incident room, she was dismayed by how tired he looked. His face seemed more lined than she remembered it, and his eyes were slightly bloodshot. Once or twice she caught him looking at her without seeming to register who she was. His shirt collar was askew, and he was unshaven. Normally he was very careful with his appearance, and she suspected he had been drinking. With a horrible pang, it occurred to her that she might somehow be the cause of his wretchedness. Finally she managed to catch his eye, and a faint smile of recognition flickered across his face, as though he had only just noticed her and was relieved to see her.

Ariadne had been in charge of a team of constables looking for Jason. Her report was frustrating. Having booked the time off work, Jason had simply disappeared. It could be no coincidence that he had gone missing at the same time as the baby had vanished. The mood at the police station was generally slightly less sombre than it had been, as it seemed the baby must be with her father. But there remained the issue of the bloodstains in the cot, and not everyone was confident the baby was still alive.