I nodded, gave her knee a squeeze and we set off, neither of us speaking during the short drive. I felt aware of the photo album in my bag, which was thrown on the back seat, but now wasn’t the time to mention it. She was already worried about going to the police station. Or maybe I was just trying to hide it from myself. I still couldn’t shake the feeling that there was some level of responsibility on my shoulders. The weight of it threatened to crush me.

Once parked, I took Julie’s hand and we crossed Strand Road heading towards the police station.

We asked for Constable King and took our seats in the soulless reception area while we waited for her.

‘I’ve never been in a police station before,’ Julie said, jiggling her legs up and down, clearly nervous. ‘I wonder what they’re going to tell us. I mean, it’s not been good news whenever they’ve come near us; in fact, it’s been more bad news.’

‘Maybe they have a lead,’ I offered.

‘They wouldn’t call us in for that,’ Julie said, her eyes darting around the room at the tired posters on the walls offering advice on legal aid or how to beat drug and alcohol addiction. She stood up and walked to the Perspex screen at the reception desk. ‘Would I have time for a smoke, do you think? Before we go in?’

The portly officer on duty looked her up and down; Julie was already rummaging in her bag for a packet of cigarettes.

‘There’s no smoking here,’ he said.

‘I know,’ she replied, ‘but outside? There has to be a place outside.’

She was sounding increasingly agitated and I got up, encouraged her to sit down, told her that Constable King wouldn’t be long.

‘I just want a smoke, Rachel!’ she snapped, twisting away from me and heading for the exit.

Just at that moment, Constable King walked through the door to our left and called our names. Swearing under her breath, Julie put her cigarettes and lighter back in her bag and followed Constable King through the door while I trailed behind, offering a weak apology of a smile to the officer behind the desk.

It wasn’t like Julie to be so short with anyone. Not even on her bad days. Then again, everything had been turned on its axis and nothing made sense any more, so it wasn’t really a surprise that Julie no longer seemed to be the Julie she normally was.

‘We appreciate you ladies coming in,’ Constable King said, ‘especially at such short notice. DI Bradley will be joining us and we hope you can help us to go through some information that might be of assistance to the investigation.’

‘Anything that can help,’ I said, while Julie stayed quiet.