Kesey raised an eyebrow. ‘Look, I appreciate that none of this is easy. I have a young child myself and can only imagine how I’d feel in your place. But please try to be patient. I’m following a well-established protocol because it works. Now, the photo, please, it really would help. The quicker we progress matters, the better the chance of finding your daughter.’

Megan reached into her bag with a trembling hand. She took out her phone and began quickly scrolling through the many photos until she found one she thought suitable. She handed Kesey the mobile, Lottie’s pretty face almost filling the screen: her shoulder-length blonde hair, her bright blue eyes, smiling, in happier times before the recent separation. ‘How about this one?’

Kesey glanced at the screen as she approached the door. She looked back as she turned the handle. ‘Yeah, thanks, that’s perfect. I need to ask you what Lottie was wearing at the time of her disappearance?’

‘She was wearing green pyjamas, a top and trousers.’

‘Green?’

‘Yes, I know they’re a bit unusual. My mum’s got a garden pond. It was full of frog spawn, then tadpoles and finally, tiny frogs that were hopping all over the lawn. Lottie loved them.’ Megan stalled, choking back her tears before speaking again. ‘Her pyjamas are covered in cartoon images of smiling frogs sitting on lily pads. I’m sorry, I haven’t got a photograph of her wearing them. Is that going to be a problem?’

Kesey shook her head, picturing the missing child in her mind’s eye, feeling the mother’s angst. ‘Just tell me where they were bought. I can always obtain a pair. It may be useful if we decide to appeal to the public for information.’

Megan looked increasingly puzzled. ‘I bought them in the new children’s clothes shop in King Street, the small independent place close to the library on the opposite side of the street, but why would you—?’

Kesey spoke without allowing Megan to complete her sentence. ‘I’ll be back with you as quickly as I can. I need to be certain of my facts. As I said, there are things we need to discuss.’

Megan paced the room, first one way and then another, her mind leaping from one unwelcome hypothesis to the next, searching for answers she couldn’t find until Kesey reappeared about twenty minutes later. The look on the officer’s face only served to send Megan’s pounding heart soaring to a new and savage high.

‘Take a seat, please. There are things we need to talk about.’

Megan appeared frozen, rigid, unable to move as if welded to the spot. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came.

Kesey reached out, taking her witness’s arm, guiding her to her chair. ‘Sit yourself down, Megan. I’m keen to continue as quickly as we can.’

Megan slumped into her seat, forcing the words from her mouth as her gut churned and twisted. ‘What is it?’ She swallowed hard. ‘What’s happening here? Has something happened to… has something… has…?’