Ariadne shook her head. ‘We’ve been following up every possible lead and there’s still no sign of him anywhere, and we haven’t come across any mention of a stag party being held the weekend he disappeared. All of the friends we know he was in contact with have now been traced and questioned and no one has any idea where he is. There’s no sign of him on any CCTV at the airport or at any mainline station. It would be impossible to travel on public transport with a baby without leaving any trace at all, so we don’t think he can have gone anywhere by train or bus. No taxi firm has any record of a pick-up from his house or anywhere nearby, and no driver has recognised his photo as a recent fare, and his car has not been moved. If it had, we would have a sighting,’ she added, as though she was worried her team might be accused of failing to spot him. ‘We’ll widen the net, but so far there’s been no trace of him. It’s like he just disappeared.’

‘Along with the baby,’ a constable muttered.

‘Sooner or later we’ll find them,’ Eileen said. ‘Now let’s get going.’

Geraldine drove Ian to the morgue. He didn’t look at her as they set off and she hesitated, wondering whether to speak to him. After they had grown so close, it felt strange to be uncomfortable in his company, uncertain what to say to him.

At length she broached the topic that had been uppermost in her mind since Ian’s wife had returned. ‘How’s Bev?’

‘She’s tired,’ he replied tersely.

‘Is the baby sleeping through the night yet?’

‘He’s only three months old.’

Geraldine noticed his voice soften slightly when he spoke about the baby, and something seemed to tighten in her stomach. She took a deep breath.

‘I’ll take that as a “no” then.’ She paused before posing the question she really wanted to ask. ‘Have you had a paternity test?’

‘Not yet.’

‘Why not?’

‘Bev doesn’t want me to.’

Geraldine spoke sternly. ‘Ian, it’s not her decision. If she wants you to support her and the baby, you have a right to know if he’s yours or not.’

He muttered that it was none of her business.

‘So you think you can just breeze into my life, move into my flat, and then simply bugger off again whenever you fancy, without even bothering to establish whether there’s even a reason, just because that’s what Bev wants? What about what I want? Have you stopped to think about –’

‘Please, Geraldine,’ he stopped her, in an anguished tone, ‘I didn’t ask her to come back.’

‘Nor did I,’ she retorted angrily.