She flips open her laptop and hovers her fingers over the keyboard. The only thing she knows about Kat is that she works at Groom & Bloom, so she starts there. The website is rudimentary at best – not even a blog – but it does list the names of their groomers: Sally Greenwood and Kat Wilson. There’s a short biography too, and Saskia learns that Kat got a taste for dog grooming while living on a farm in Australia, then earned her qualification from Lywood Grooming Academy near Newbury after she returned to the UK. Saskia pauses for a moment, takes another glug of coffee, then picks up her phone. After a short online search, she taps in a number.

‘Hello, Lywood Grooming Academy,’ a gruff, slightly bored, voice answers.

‘Oh, hi there,’ Saskia responds, trying to sound upbeat. ‘I hope you don’t mind me calling on a Saturday.’

‘It’s not ideal, to be honest. What do you want?’

Saskia sighs. Maybe she should get straight to the point. ‘My name is Sally Greenwood,’ she says, transferring to her professional tone. ‘I run a dog groomer’s in London, and I’m after some information on one of my groomers.’

‘And you’re calling me because?’ The word hangs in the air, somewhere between a question and an accusation.

‘Because she qualified with you and got a rosy reference along with her distinction,’ Saskia counters, silently praying that her assertive tone works in her favour, and that grooming comes with the traditional categories of awards.

‘I take it she’s done something you’re not happy with?’ the woman with no name surmises, making Saskia wonder how reputable her course can be.

‘In a way. But I’m more concerned than unhappy,’ Saskia ad-libs. ‘There have been a few incidents. Her mental health seems to be deteriorating. Of course I’m not suggesting that’s your problem, I just wondered whether you knew of any relevant history, to help me work out what to do. There was nothing in her reference to explain it,’ she adds, hoping a soupçon of menace doesn’t backfire.

The voice expels a heavy sigh. ‘Name?’

‘Kat Wilson.’

‘Hold on, I’ll get the file.’

While Saskia waits, she types a few combinations into the search engine. Katherine Wilson + Beth Packard. Beth Packard + Reading. Beth Packard + tragic car accident. But she knows it’s pointless. Packard is Simon’s surname, so only Beth’s married name. She has no way of tracing her friend further back than that. She wonders if that’s weird, knowing so little about someone she’s supposed to be best friends with. Beth’s Facebook link comes up on the search too, but Saskia doesn’t bother clicking into it; she already knows there are only saccharine pictures of Martha and Ava on there. The same with Instagram, and Beth doesn’t even have a Twitter account.

‘Still there?’