‘Yes . . . well done, Anna. That’s a brilliant idea.’ Fran nods, frown easing away, and I hurry away to the stairs, horror and betrayal leaving a bitter, metallic taste on my tongue.

I knock on their bedroom door, but there is no answer and I hear the faint rush of the shower running in the en suite. Tentatively I push the door open and slide in, spying his mobile phone left on the bedside table, exactly as Fran suspected it would be.

I cautiously pick it up, my ears straining to hear the moment the shower goes off. Fran told me his passcode – turns out it’s the same as the alarm code for the house – and with shaking fingers I tap in the code waiting for the screen to come to life. His background picture is a photo of Laurel taken last summer, on a rare day when they went to a theme park as a family, leaving me at home, and my heart twists at the sight of her blonde hair, her gappy grin. Swiping into his messages I scroll down, scanning over them until I see the one I was really hoping I wouldn’t. It’s a number, not a stored name, and as I open it I swear I can hear my heart thundering in my chest so loudly it drowns out the sound of the shower. It says:

‘I KNEW YOU’D SEE SENSE IN THE END. THIS WILL ALL BE OVER SOON. P xxx’

What? I can’t even begin to make sense of the message. What will all be over soon? Dominic and Fran’s marriage? Or the fact that Laurel is missing? And it’s signed P, so surely it can only be from Pamela? The abrupt sound of the shower turning off startles me and I jump, throwing the phone back on to the bedside table, scurrying downstairs to the kitchen before Dominic returns.

‘Well?’ Fran looks as though she’s been pacing since I left the room. ‘Did you find anything?’

I nod, urgently. ‘Yes, there’s a text message on his phone from P . . . I think it must be Pamela. It didn’t really make much sense, but they’re definitely in contact. But that doesn’t mean she had anything to do with Laurel’s disappearance.’

‘I’ll have to speak to DS Wright about it though. Any lead helps, doesn’t it? And if Pamela had something to do with Laurel disappearing I have to say something. She’s already trying to steal my husband, why not take my child? She’s trying to steal my whole life.’ Fran’s face crumples, and she puts her head in her hands as she starts to sob.