Maude nodded. ‘He’s a heart of gold, has Ted. I don’t know how you haven’t swung for your father. I know he’s not well, but that’s no excuse for sending you on a wild goose chase.’

Olivia shrugged. ‘I don’t think he knows what the truth is, he’s spun that many lies.’ She held up her plate and her ID card for the cook to inspect.

‘But why tell you where to go? I just don’t get it.’

‘Well, it was a red herring,’ Olivia said. ‘He was deliberately trying to set us off on the wrong track, which was stupid, because there’s only one crem in Glasgow and it’s called Glasgow Crematorium.’

‘What did you father say it was called?’ asked Maude as the cook spooned stew on to her plate.

Olivia mulled this over. ‘If I’m honest, I’m not entirely sure, but it was something depressing, like you’d expect the name of a crem or cemetery to be.’ She hesitated, ‘Like graveyard, or gravestones …’ She snapped her fingers. ‘Got it! He said it was called Greystones.’

The cook paused halfway through slopping some mashed potato on to Maude’s plate. ‘Sorry, but I couldn’t help overhearing. Did I hear you mention something about Greystones – are you still talking about Glasgow?’

Olivia nodded. ‘Have you heard of it?’

The cook nodded. ‘I should say so, I lived there most of my life.’

Maude grimaced. ‘You lived in a crematorium?’

The cook’s eyebrows rose swiftly towards her hairline. ‘Crematorium? Who on earth told you that Greystones was a crematorium?’

‘My father,’ said Olivia. ‘Although of course we now know he was wrong, but if it isn’t a crem, what is it?’

The cook pushed her serving spoon into the vegetables. ‘It’s an orphanage.’

Chapter Ten

Olivia stared open-mouthed at the cook. ‘An orphanage?’ She turned to Maude. ‘I wonder if there’s a church nearby.’

Maude stared at Olivia. ‘It’s a bit of a coincidence, don’t you think?’

‘What is?’

‘Out of all the names your father could have given, he chose one that actually exists.’ Maude looked at the cook. ‘We know Greystones is in Glasgow, but what street is it on?’

‘The corner of Edinburgh and Barrachnie roads.’

‘Is there a church near there?’ Olivia asked.

The girl nodded. ‘We used to walk there every Sunday. Why?’

Olivia smiled. ‘Just wondering.’ She motioned for Maude to follow her to the back of the room where they sat down far away from everyone else.

‘So, what are you thinking?’ asked Maude, placing her tray on the table.

‘Isn’t it obvious? Dad mistook the name of the church for the orphanage!’

Maude pushed her stew around her plate and spoke quietly. ‘Please don’t get upset, but how do you know that your baby died?’