Heads turn. Melissa tries not to cringe. The bruises have faded by now but the line on her cheek where the skin was torn remains as an uneven pink scar. The repair was good but the puckering is obvious. She holds herself very still. She had tried to shield Izzy from what Paul did to her, but she must have known all the time. She wants to get up and run to her daughter, but she has to wait a few more minutes.

The barrister is speaking again, heads swivel back. ‘Thank you, Isabelle,’ she says, then she turns and bows to the district judge. ‘I have no more questions.’ She sits down; her silk shirt has become untucked, the immaculate grey bob a little disordered. The judge begins to talk – something about reconvening and more evidence – she doesn’t catch most of what he says; her mind is so full of Izzy. After a few minutes he leaves the court. Then the whispers start and get louder, waves advancing up the pebbly beach with force. Melissa gathers her coat and her bag. She wants to go to her daughter as soon as she can, so she misses the moment when Paul might have looked for her, seeing only the door close behind him and the accompanying officer.

Izzy is standing just inside the room across the corridor. She looks different from the girl on the screen; in fact, Melly has never seen Izzy like this. She seems much younger suddenly, very lost. She is staring around in fear, as if she has found herself in the middle of a wood having gone too far and doesn’t have a clue how to get out. She’s no longer performing for the court; she isn’t burning with anger. She’s not a confident teenager any more, but simply a frightened little girl who has suffered for years. This reality breaks against Melly with the force of an icy wave, but she mustn’t drown; her daughter needs her more than ever now. The witness protection woman has her arm around Izzy and is murmuring something about her being very brave, but Izzy doesn’t seem to be listening. When she catches sight of Melissa, her face relaxes; she runs to her mother and wraps her arms round her. Melissa lowers her head to her daughter’s.

‘Excuse me, Mrs Chorley-Smith.’ The solicitor has followed her from the court, the tired woman whom Melissa had felt sorry for.

Melissa looks up. ‘I have to take my daughter home now. This has been a huge strain for her.’

‘I’ll be quick. In the next few days, Izzy will be called for an interview at a police station by female police officers in the forensics team.’ She lowers her voice. ‘She may need to undergo physical examination.’ Then she nods briskly. ‘The trial will be reconvened when all the evidence will be considered together.’

‘Will she have to attend that trial?’