The conviction with which she speaks is slightly shocking, and I realise that she genuinely believes Dominic will come back to her. I wonder what he’s said to make her believe in him so wholeheartedly. ‘You texted him, saying not to worry, that this would all be over soon. What did you mean? What will all be over soon?’

‘I only meant . . . I meant that he and Fran would be over soon, that’s all. He sent me that message asking me to meet him that night and I thought . . . I thought he meant that he’d had a change of heart – seen reason, if you like. I thought this was it – he was going to tell me he’d leave Fran and be with me.’ Her hands shake as she reaches for a napkin and blows her nose. ‘I called him the next morning, not realising Laurel had gone missing. He told me what had happened the night before, he was in pieces.’ I realise that Pamela must have been who Dominic was on the phone to that first morning, when we were back at the field.

She goes on, ‘I’m not an idiot, Anna, anyone can see that Dominic and Fran aren’t right for each other. But it’s OK. I’ve waited this long, I can wait a little while longer. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth, Anna, but I couldn’t.’ She pushes back her chair and snatches up her coat, thrusting her arms into the sleeves.

‘Pamela, I have to ask you this. Have you got any idea what might have happened to Laurel? Did you have anything to do with her going missing?’ My stomach flips as I make my accusation, my heart thudding in my throat.

‘What?’ Pamela looks at me in disgust. ‘No, Anna, I had absolutely nothing to do with what happened to Laurel.’ And as she stumbles out of the diner, tripping over the leg of a chair left thrust out into the walkway, I believe that she doesn’t know anything about Laurel’s disappearance. But I’m starting to think that maybe Dominic does.

Fran’s face is white when I let myself back into the house, having walked the long way home from the diner, trying to process everything I have heard from Pamela. Some of what she said seems to confirm that I don’t really know Dominic as well as I thought I did, and the thought makes my stomach swoop, as though I’m on the last leg of a giant rollercoaster. The idea of Dominic demanding that she abort their baby leaves a nasty, bitter taste in my mouth, and I wonder how he dealt with Laurel being born. Maybe he never wanted her either? The implications of that thought make my mouth go dry, and I lick anxiously at my lips.