‘Steve,’ she said, ‘it’s Augusta. Lana Reid’s daughter has been missing for the last twelve hours or so.’

‘What?’

‘Jane Reid is missing.’

There was a brief pause, then Barker said, ‘What do you need?’

‘We need the local police to take it seriously. We need them to know who Lana is and what she might be capable of. My next call is to Superintendent Briggs at the Met, but I’ll need to tell her everything.’ Briggs was another of Bloom’s course delegates and one of the most impressive police officers she’d ever met.

‘I know Briggs. She’s a sensible copper. Tell her what you need to and I’ll speak to her tomorrow to keep this tight.’

Bloom thanked him and then called Grace Briggs, who, as luck would have it, was wide awake and dealing with a major firearms incident. Bloom filled her in as quickly as possible – the psychopath collector, the Graham family, the disappearance of Jane Reid – and Briggs promised a high-priority call-out to all officers.

Bloom headed towards the kitchen. Claire was pacing round and round the kitchen island.

‘Claire?’ said Bloom quietly, not wanting to scare her.

‘Augusta. Thank you for coming.’

‘Of course. What can I do? Have you eaten anything?’ Bloom asked, switching on the kettle.

Claire shook her head.

‘Can I ask you some questions?’

‘Please. Anything at all.’

‘When was the last time you spoke to Jane?’

‘This morning at breakfast. She always helps me with the girls.’

‘And how did she seem?’ Bloom put teabags in two mugs.

‘Normal – just normal. I’ve been wracking my brain for something I missed, but there was nothing. I know she’s been subdued this last week, but she’s a tough little cookie.’

‘Would she go anywhere without telling you?’

‘Jane’s the most mature young girl I’ve ever met. She always tells me where she’s going and who with. She’s never out later than eight thirty, and, most importantly, she talks to me. She told me she was upset that you and Marcus were looking for her dad. She tells me everything.’

‘Did she say why that upset her?’ asked Bloom.

‘He’s a loser, isn’t he? She doesn’t want anything to do with him, and I suppose she’s scared that if her mum doesn’t come back, he might have some claim to her.’

‘Might that make her run away?’

Claire sighed. ‘We talked it through and she seemed fine. I said no one would force her to see him and that Dan and I would make sure she got to choose if the worst came to the worst. I thought she was OK with that.’ Claire started pacing again. ‘I’ve no idea what I’m doing, you know. How am I supposed to help her? What if I’ve said the wrong thing?’