Joe was happier than I’d seen him for ages. He’d found his mum. I could tell that he didn’t really want to talk about it. He just said that he’d tracked her down and got her to bring him back to Devon. He’d said goodbye to her forever just outside Beachview, and he was plainly still in shock, mostly at the fact that for years and years he’d assumed that she’d walked away because she didn’t love him enough, but that he’d been completely wrong about all of it.

‘You sit down,’ I said, ‘and just let me talk at you. You can sit there and ignore me if you want. I wish I could give you a hug.’

‘Me too,’ he said.

‘So.’ I took the pieces of paper out of my bag and spread them out on the floor. ‘Can you see these?’

‘No. Yes. I think I can only see them when you’re touching them.’

‘Oh, that’s weird!’

We experimented and discovered that yes, he could only see them when I was touching them.

I put my hand on the first one. ‘So. This one is the timeline.’ I put a finger on the other. ‘This one’s my typed-up list of everyone interesting, with my research filled in. I’ve taken off the people who I was sure weren’t relevant and focused on these ones.’

I held it out.

LUCAS INGLEBY: Lives in London. Works in accounts. Found his home address on the open register for the electoral roll. His mum Maria Ingleby works at Greentrees Primary School (not Z & C’s school).

Gus said someone was hiding something and I think he was talking about Lucas. Joe was pretty dismissive and mean to him. Does that make him the prime suspect? He’s the best we’ve got. GO AND FIND HIM IN LONDON ON SATURDAY.

MARCO MANCINI: Lives between London, LA and Rome, works in film. Could track him down at his office possibly if he’s in London. No home address, social media all private, but cover photos suggest a husband. Added him on FB and Insta, but he hasn’t responded.

TROY HENRY: Nothing on the internet after 2010, but posted about moving to France before that. His parents Sheila and Piet still live here.

JEMIMA SAUNDERS: Still lives here, has three kids, sells baby clothes on Etsy, looks happy and lovely. Easiest to track down: I’ve ordered something from her Etsy store.

GUS & FAMILY: Still here. Contact firmly made.

JASPER SIMPSON/MRS DUPONT (FLORENCE DUKE): Here. Contact unexpectedly established.

CLAIRE SIMPSON: All we know is that she lives in India and comes back a couple of times a year to see the girls. Can’t find her at all online as her name is too common, no matter what search terms I try. She probably lives deliberately offline.