“I completely promise. You can trust me. It’s off the record, entirely.”

All playfulness gone, Harper could see that she was sincere.

So, Harper told Amy about the visit to the Tranters’ house two days before. Amy listened, her eyes gleaming as Harper recounted how she’d become convinced that the husband was lying about something, but also that Lauren was scared and vulnerable and quite possibly mentally unstable. She added that the bushes had been trampled, and although that in itself didn’t prove anything, it bothered her.

Like the shadows on the tape bothered her.

Amy sat up, remembering. “This is the abduction case from the hospital, isn’t it? The false alarm?”

Harper nodded.

“But you just said there was someone hanging around outside their house, which would indicate someone is out to get them. So was it a false alarm or not?”

“In the hospital they told me the mother was having a psychotic episode. But when I spoke to her at the time, I don’t know. I believed that something had happened.”

“I remember. You were upset. Because of the babies thing.”

Harper looked at Amy. “Yeah. I told you that I …”

“Have a weird thing about babies, I know. It’s a sensitive subject for you.”

Maybe she’ll ask me now, thought Harper. For a few seconds neither of them said anything.

“Anyway,” said Harper, “I’ve been told by my boss to leave the case alone. Which is why I’m here on my lunch hour, and not on work time.”

“You don’t have a lunch hour.” Amy cast her eyes about the car. “And, I don’t see any lunch.”

It was true, there was no such thing as a lunch hour at the station. You ate at your desk. All of the computer keyboards had a film of supermarket mayo and a dusting of crisp crumbs. “Well, I’m on my way to the shop, if you must know. We are allowed to do that.”

Amy considered this information for a while. “None of this actually explains why you’re here. Precisely here, right now, watching that car, which I am assuming from what you’ve said, belongs to Tranter. How did that come about?”

“Oh, that. Well, I was going to check the trampled bushes again, in the daylight, just to see if there was anything I’d missed. As I pulled up near the house I happened to see Patrick getting into his car. So, I followed.”

“Makes sense. Nothing better to do. On your way to the shop.”

“Right.”

“And, it’s a lovely day for it.”

“Yes,” said Harper, with less confidence.

“For a bit of freelance snooping.”

“Well, I don’t see it quite like that—”

“Not that I’m judging. Lord knows, that’s my entire existence. Oh wait, who’s this?”

A thin woman with dark hair approached the entrance to the office car park. She removed a mobile phone from a small red handbag and pressed on its screen, then held it to her ear. After a short conversation, she put the phone back in her bag and leaned on the bonnet of Patrick Tranter’s car with her arms folded.