Eileen stopped crying and glared at her. ‘That’s because you haven’t invited me to anything.’

Helen sighed. ‘Eileen. You have an open invitation to see us whenever you want, you know that. I wasn’t having a go, just making conversation. But we do have this family liaison officer staying with us at the moment, so it’s a bit of a houseful what with the police coming and going, and Alice’s friends in and out . . .’

‘Are you saying I can’t stay?’ Eileen pursed her lips, deepening all her wrinkles further.

‘No, not at all, as long as you don’t mind sleeping on the zed bed in the office. I’m just saying sorry that the spare room’s not free . . .’ Helen chickened out of imposing the three-day maximum time limit. Let Sean do that, she thought. ‘Anyway, you must be hungry, let me get some pasta on. Sean’s just having a shower. He’ll be down in a while.’

When the pasta was done, and Sean had reappeared with spiky wet hair, the three of them sat down. Frankie’s empty booster seat was still attached to the fourth chair at the table, like a reproach. There was a tomato sauce stain on the strap of it that Helen didn’t want to clean off. She and Sean picked at a few tubes of pasta each. It was the first meal that she had cooked in three days, the FLO having made several others that none of them had touched. Helen found herself hoping the FLO would come back soon, so at least then Eileen would have a captive audience that wasn’t herself and Sean.

Eileen ate with gusto, wittering on about people ‘back home’ that Helen knew Sean had no interest in hearing about. Helen switched off completely. All she could think about was whether or not Janet Friars had replied again, and as soon as she could reasonably leave the table, she got up abruptly. ‘Leave the bowls. I’ll clear up later,’ she said. ‘Just going to call the station to see if there are any updates.’

Once back in the study with the door firmly closed, she approached the computer as though it might detonate at any moment.

There was a new message, and she shivered as she read it: I can’t tell the police, he’ll kill me and the little ones too. But he didn’t take Izzy. Just Liam and Frankie. Frankie’s wearing fairy PJs. That enough proof for you? See you Thursday.