“I don’t think she took them.” Lauren turned to face Harper. “You’ve got the wrong one. You need to keep on looking. This girl,” she indicated the print, still on the table between them, “she’s innocent.”

Patrick stared at his wife, his face full of pity.

“The woman you want is young, she’s got dark hair, bad teeth, piercing eyes. She stinks. She’s got a basket. She took my babies, she took them. Not this one.”

Patrick put his hands on top of Lauren’s to stop them flitting in the air. He said, “Shh, honey, you’re babbling.”

Harper cleared her throat. She didn’t know what to make of Lauren’s certainty that they had the wrong person in custody. She could have been describing Natasha, apart from the basket, and maybe the teeth. Perhaps, in her heightened state of agitation in the hospital, she simply hadn’t taken in what the person looked like, and had constructed something from her own imagination that didn’t match reality. “Natasha Dowling is our only suspect at this time. So far, the evidence isn’t conclusive, but I think we’ll soon be able to prove that she’s the one who took them. Hopefully she’ll be charged soon, but I’ll keep you informed as much as possible. And Mr Tranter, you may also have to come in to give a statement.”

Patrick didn’t look too happy about that prospect, but he nodded that he understood.

Lauren kept her eyes averted as Harper got up and said her goodbyes. As she walked over to the door she heard the splash of liquid spilling and turned back to see Lauren’s tea had fallen to the floor, was streaked across the carpet at her feet.

“Oh, I’m so clumsy. I don’t know how that happened. I’m so sorry. Let me clear it up …”

“Don’t worry, it’s fine, I’ll do it,” said Patrick, reaching for some paper towels and dabbing at the floor.

Harper stopped and stared. There on the darkened patch of carpet, dissolving rapidly in the hot liquid, were fragments of what she thought were medication capsule cases. Almost immediately, the fragments were gone, melted entirely away, leaving no evidence that they had ever been there.

“You didn’t even drink any of it,” said Patrick. “I’ll get you another one.”