The policewoman was doing her best to find him as well: all units in Penrith had been told to watch out for him. Ella had known her son’s capacity for love, but Thomas saw his scope for remorselessness. That stillness, resolve and depth was something he recognised in himself; it had made him a ruthless businessman, retiring before fifty and living off his hard work. Jordan had the same steel in his eyes, and Thomas knew that whatever mission he was on, it would take heaven and earth to budge him.

For now, all he could do to revere the memory of his dead wife was to keep her daughter safe. He listened to the chanting as he marched, heard Sharon shouting about social justice and inequality. Three days ago, Thomas would have said she was missing the point. In a capitalist society, competition and inequality were key. In the survival of the fittest, some animals were caught and eaten. It was life. That was all.

But now, he admired the woman leading the peaceful protest, and he knew that Ella would have done too.

‘No more knife crime!’ they chanted, repeating the chorus as they made their way past stationary traffic. People got out of cars and took videos to post online, reporters clamoured for the best shots of the front of the march, and Millie squeezed Thomas’s hand. She bellowed along with them and car horns tooted in support.

The mood was buoyant and lively, but suddenly the atmosphere began to change and Thomas felt pressure from behind. He held onto Millie as she looked over her shoulder. They were close to police HQ. In the distance, they saw a stationary line of police cars, and Sharon began to slow down and encourage the human train to grind to a halt. The message was passed back, and before long, the whole convoy had come to a standstill. A man squeezed through the crowd and told her that she was welcome to stand on his car to address her audience.

Thomas went to help her up, taking Millie with him. Millie gazed at Sharon in anticipation, but Thomas was busy looking around him, working out the best way to get her out of here quickly should they need to. He felt that things were about to change.

‘Why are they blocking our way?’ Sharon raged. The crowd roared. Thomas reckoned there were over a thousand people listening to her. He saw movement near the police cars, and officers wearing riot clothes moved across the road in front of their blockade of vehicles.

‘Millie!’ he said firmly. He’d managed to hold her slightly away from the car on which Sharon stood. She ignored him and pulled away.

‘Why will they not speak to us?’ Sharon implored. The crowd rumbled its response.