If it had been a story I’d been chasing in my old life, I would have visited the London club immediately; jumped straight on the Eurostar and gone to Paris to find out about Katya – I would have begun delving into her life until I found the answers. But I had a different life now, so I went home for tea instead.

‘Mummy, Freddie pinched me on the tummy,’ Effie told me crossly as I walked through the door.

‘Effie’s a bum-bum,’ Freddie said, and pinched her again.

She screwed up her face and burst into loud and dramatic tears.

‘Freddie,’ I pulled him away from his twin irritably, ‘that’s naughty. Say sorry to your sister.’

‘Don’t care,’ he said, and stuck his tongue out at me. His eyes were full of fear though; he knew he was pushing it.

‘You will care when I make you sit in your room until bedtime.’

‘I won’t. I’ll – I’ll sneak out again like Wolverine and then I’ll … ‘ he said, but his little voice wavered now. It was hard to be cross for long with such an angelic-looking child. He thought of the worst thing possible. ‘I’ll chop your tummy off.’

‘Really?’ I bit my lip. ‘That’s not very nice, is it?’

‘Where’s Daddy?’ Alicia said quietly from the doorway. My heart went out to her as the twins began squabbling again.

‘Come here, Lissie.’ I held my arms out, but she just scrunched up her anxious little face as the twins began to fight. ‘Get off me,’ Effie squawked as Jen appeared behind her and quickly assessed the situation. She gathered the terrible two up.

‘Bath-time, kiddiwinks,’ she said, and I shot her a grateful look.

‘Praise be for tolerant and childless godparents,’ I said, and she laughed. ‘I owe you one, Jen.’

‘You owe me more than one, lady,’ she said, and scooped the still sobbing Effie up. ‘Come on, you two. Shall we have bubbles?’

‘I can put my head under water. Is my goggles here?’ A now placid Freddie trotted off behind Jen. ‘Shall I show you?’

‘I said where’s Daddy?’ Alicia looked on the edge of tears herself.

‘He’s still away on his business trip, darling.’ I reached out my hand for her, but she ignored it, eyeing me suspiciously.

‘Why doesn’t he ring us up like normal?’

‘Because he – the phones don’t work where he is.’

‘Why didn’t he take his phone?’ she said, scowling. Her small forehead was knitted furiously: I wanted to smooth it out. I didn’t know how much longer I could keep the truth from Alicia. She might be young but she obviously sensed something was deeply wrong.

‘He did, darling. It’s just – you know, sometimes there is no reception. Mobile phones are funny old things.’ I imagined the police had confiscated it when they arrested him. ‘In the old days—’