She turned to Sean, craving the security of his embrace, but his face looked like thunder.

‘You shouldn’t have done that,’ he said flatly, when she came to him.

‘Oh come on, Sean! There’s something she’s not telling us, I know there is!’

He looked at her. ‘You know there is? What the fuck does that mean? Because what it sounds like to me is that you’re desperate to make Alice the scapegoat, so you’ve got someone to blame . . .’

Helen gaped at him. ‘Sean! That’s just not true, and I think it’s grossly unfair of you to be so unsupportive. I just can’t sit around here doing nothing while Frankie’s still missing, I can’t!’ Her voice rose. ‘Let’s go outside and make a statement of our own to those photographers. Come on. It’s got to help, surely.’

‘No,’ Sean said, putting his hand on her arm to restrain her. ‘No, Helen, it’s not the right way to do it. Maybe later, a formal press conference with that cop, Lennon, you know, the one who’s just done Isabel’s . . .’ He trailed off.

‘I haven’t seen the one about Isabel. I’ll watch it tonight on the nine o’clock news.’

‘Don’t,’ said Sean, his eyes filling with tears. ‘Don’t watch it, Hel. And please don’t go outside now. If you want to appeal on TV, let’s organize it properly. But I don’t want to go on TV so you’d have to do it by yourself.’

He sounded reticent, almost embarrassed. Helen frowned at him. ‘What? Of course I’m not doing it on my own. It would look so weird if you weren’t there! Why on earth wouldn’t you want to do it, if it might help us find Frankie?’

Sean just shrugged and turned away. ‘I need to find Alice, make sure she’s OK,’ he said. ‘I’m going upstairs to ring her.’

He had left the kitchen and, finding herself alone, Helen had felt the urge to flee. She grabbed her car key and headed out. At the gym, she had bought a whole new kit and towel from the little shop. The gym was in a hotel, Grant’s, by Richmond Park, and she often came here when Frankie was at nursery so she could work out before relaxing for a while in the hotel lounge with a coffee. With no family or work pressures, these were the only moments she got to herself.