Kat didn’t have time to plan for questions, so she improvises. ‘I think so,’ she stumbles. ‘It wasn’t a great line. Is there any chance I could go? See for myself?’

‘Of course, you must!’ Sally says, nodding her head vigorously. ‘I’ll finish Aggie’s groom. Just let me know what’s what, yes?’

‘Thanks, Sally,’ Kat says, grabbing her coat from the hook. ‘I’ll be a couple of hours max, I promise.’ She gives her boss one last grateful smile, then pushes on the front door and steps into the cold.

Kat feels the school receptionist’s stare wash over her and tries not to flinch. ‘And you’re a friend of Mrs Packard?’ the skinny woman says, peering over her old-fashioned spectacles, the politeness of her words almost fully obscured by the suspicion in her tone.

‘I walk their dog, Luna. And mind the girls sometimes,’ she adds quickly.

‘Ah, I see.’ The receptionist visibly relaxes as she works out the connection between one of their most glamorous parents and the mound of solid flesh with red hair and a large tattoo standing in front of her. Staff clearly makes more sense than friend. ‘Let me get Martha and Ava for you,’ she says, standing up. ‘They’re waiting in the nurse’s room.’ She pauses for a moment, as though assessing how much to say to this obvious interloper. ‘Mrs Crowmarsh will call Mrs Packard this afternoon, once she’s back home,’ she finally offers, before disappearing through a side door. A few moments later, she returns with Martha and Ava in tow.

‘Hi, Kat,’ Martha says, adding a nervous wave.

‘Where’s Mummy?’ Ava asks, her lip wobbling. ‘I want Mummy.’ She looks so vulnerable. Her once chubby cheeks seem hollow now, punctured prematurely by grim reality, and her eyes are red with rubbed-away tears.

A wave of revulsion slams down on Kat’s chest. Ava is just an innocent child in all of this.

And it’s her job to comfort that child, Kat realises, with growing panic. Sweat forms on her palms as the receptionist’s glare burns into her skin. Because she’s got no idea how; she’s always been rubbish with people. But Ava needs someone to make her feel better, and she promised Beth that she’d take care of her youngest daughter. Kat scratches her chin and thinks about the scared puppies she has to put at ease at Groom & Bloom. Confidence, eye contact and lots of treats. Perhaps that works with small children too. She takes a deep breath, then bends down and takes Ava’s hands into hers. ‘Mummy is racing back to see you, I promise,’ she says, looking directly into Ava’s eyes. ‘In fact, she’s racing so fast that there’ll only be just enough time for us to stop for hot chocolate with marshmallows.’