I go over everything again, the way Laurel and I left the house earlier than Fran, Laurel keen to get to the field. The way I called out to her as she skipped after Fran, the silver threads in her bobble hat reflecting the light. The way I looked down and she simply wasn’t there anymore. The words come slowly at first, my tongue feeling too big for my mouth, before I start to cry and then the words and the tears flow freely.

‘And what about Fran? How was she that night?’

‘She was fine . . . until Laurel disappeared, that is. Then she was frantic, obviously, we all were.’

‘Even Dominic?’ DC Bishop asks, her pen scratching over the paper in front of her, making notes that I can’t decipher.

‘Well, yes.’ I pause, not sure even now what I should be saying. ‘Once he knew she was missing.’

DC Bishop inhales, as if about to ask another question before she closes her mouth and scratches the side of her head. I wait, my heart thundering in my chest, the silence in the room feeling tangibly thick.

‘Is there anything you want to tell us, Anna?’ Her eyes meet mine, and I think for a moment that my heart will stop dead in my chest.

‘What do you mean?’ I slide my gaze away, focusing on the damp patch on a ceiling tile above her head, the brown stain in the shape of a boat, stark against the white of the other tiles.

‘I mean, is there anything we should know? Anything at all?’ She leans forward on the desk, steepling her hands under her chin as she stares at me.

‘No,’ I whisper, shaking my head slightly.

‘Really? How about we start with the fact that we know you’re not Anna Cox.’

I go hot, then cold, sweat drenching my body then leaving me chilled to the bone. The floor feels as if it is liquid under my feet, and I shuffle my toes under the table in order to ground myself, to feel as though I am still really here, that this isn’t one long nightmare.

‘We spoke to your previous employers – or should I say Anna’s previous employers? I think you’ve probably realised now that things didn’t quite stack up for us.’

‘It doesn’t have anything to do with Laurel, that’s the only reason I didn’t say anything, I swear.’

‘We know who you are, Anna, or can I call you Charlie?’

‘I can explain everything.’

‘Yeah, I think you probably should.’ DC Bishop leans back in her chair and flicks her fingers towards me. ‘Fire away. I think you’ve got quite a bit of explaining to do, don’t you?’