Sean joined in. ‘Shouldn’t you have roadblocks up, helicopters out there, search teams? I should be out there searching. Not standing around here chatting.’

He took a step towards the door. Carmella moved into the centre of the doorway, blocking the exit. Sean made an exasperated sound in his throat.

Patrick said, ‘Mr and Mrs Philips, the first thing we need to do is talk to you, establish exactly what happened.’

‘We got home, our daughter was gone. That’s what happened,’ Sean said.

Helen was chewing her index finger, staring at the floor. She looked up at Patrick. ‘At least she’s got Red Ted with her.’

Patrick waited for her to continue.

‘She’s had it since she was born,’ she said. ‘She never sleeps without it. Ever. I searched her room and it’s not there.’ The last few words were stifled by a sob.

Patrick gave her a few moments, during which she allowed her husband to put his arm around her. A thought of Bonnie and her grubby Peppa Pig flashed into his mind. Peppa was his daughter’s Red Ted equivalent. ‘Mr and Mrs Philips, I need you to come to the station.’

‘No way,’ Sean interjected. ‘What if someone brings her back? We need to be here.’

‘We’ll have officers here. But we need to examine the house, look for evidence.’

‘Forensics?’ Sean said.

‘Among other things. We can’t do that with you in the house, I’m afraid. And I would appreciate it if we could talk to you tonight. While it’s all fresh in your heads.’ They stared at him, unblinking. ‘I promise you – we are going to do everything we can to find Frankie.’

They acquiesced. As Carmella prepared to lead them from the room, Patrick turned his attention to the girl who had thus far remained silent. She had stood up and slipped her hand into her dad’s. She kept her head down, and her hair fell around her face so he couldn’t see her properly. But while he’d been talking to Sean and Helen he’d sneaked glances in Alice’s direction. She’d been watching him too, wide-eyed, staring at the tattoos visible on his forearms, although he couldn’t tell if it was with approval or disgust. Above all, she looked worried and scared. But her body language, the way she hugged herself and flinched whenever her father and stepmother spoke? That told him that of the three of them, she almost certainly had the most useful story to tell.

Once Carmella had left to escort the Philipses to the station, Patrick checked that the SOCOs were on their way, along with the other members of the team. There would be a lot of disgruntled spouses left sleeping alone tonight. That was one of the good things about being single – to all intents and purposes at least. No one to make him feel guilty.