No one said anything to her about the knife. Hadn’t they found it? Or was it a trick? Were they waiting for her to ask about it? And what of Luke? If he had any sense, he’d have caught the next airship out and be in France by now. Once they discovered he was missing . . . then she could speak. But at the moment, the safest thing to do was to say nothing.

The next stage began. There were no more sympathetic young women trying to help. Now there were two men and they never stopped. On and on, bombarding her with questions. Their voices were harsh and loud. Whenever she tried to close her eyes and lose herself, they slapped the table, jerking her back to the moment. There was no chance of ignoring them. She wondered how much time had passed. Only a very tiny fraction of the eternity she seemed to have been in here, she was certain. She was exhausted and very, very thirsty.

As if they could read her mind, they banged out of the room and the female officer was back.

‘You must be thirsty, Jane.’

She recognised they’d gone back to using her first name so she could see how friendly and helpful they wanted to be. She could have a drink if she asked for one. That’s all she had to do.

‘Just ask for a drink, Jane, and we’ll bring you one. What would you like? Something long and cold? How about a fruit juice? With lots of ice? Won’t take a moment; we’ve got bottles full in the fridge. What flavour would you like? Just tell me, Jane.’

She knew the moment she spoke she was lost. Say one word and the next is easier. And then the next. Until she’d told them everything. Saying nothing made it easier for her and harder for them. It’s much more difficult to deal with someone who never says anything at all.

The worry was that they would use drugs. She knew they were considering it. They were discussing it in front of her. How they would do it. The things they could make her do while under the influence. She knew they were just trying to frighten her, but it was working.

The two loud men were back. The men who never stopped talking. She tried to close her mind but they never stopped. One after the other with never a break. Sometimes both together and the clatter of words jangled around her aching head.