Alice met Tom and Joanna at the doctor’s surgery. Tom held Joanna on his lap as they waited for their appointment. His face was obscured by the mask over his mouth and nose, but she could see from the blank expression in his eyes that he had not got over their argument.

The receptionist tapped on the plexiglass screen and smiled at them.

‘Through the door, down the corridor, second left,’ she said. ‘Dr Quinn’s ready for you.’

Dr Quinn was sitting next to her desk looking at her computer.

‘Hello,’ she said, turning to them. ‘How are you all?’

‘We’re good,’ Tom said. ‘Thank you. And you?’

‘I’m excellent. Thanks for asking.’ She turned to Alice. ‘Is this about Joanna? I believe you wanted to see me about another bruise?’

‘Yes,’ Alice said. ‘On her thigh.’

‘Could I see?’

Tom took off Jo’s baby pants and held her up. Dr Quinn took her thigh between her thumb and forefinger and examined it. The bruise had darkened into a purple ring.

‘That’s very odd,’ she said. She looked serious, worried even. ‘Is there anything – anything at all – you can think of that might have caused it?’

‘No,’ Tom said.

Alice shook her head.

‘The one on her arm could have been someone grabbing her,’ Dr Quinn said. ‘But I doubt that in this case.’

‘Is there anything that could cause her to bruise easily?’ Tom said. ‘An underlying medical problem?’

‘There certainly are some things,’ Dr Quinn said. ‘Some of them can cause spontaneous bruising, but I haven’t seen them present like this. Normally there would be bruises in more than one location. Then there are conditions that can make the body more susceptible to bruising.’ She turned first to Alice, then to Tom. ‘But there still needs to be a cause for the bruise in those cases.’

‘You mean someone still has to do something to her?’ Tom said.

‘Yes,’ Dr Quinn replied. ‘I mean exactly that.’

‘This is crazy,’ Tom said. ‘No one would hurt Jo, not deliberately. There has to be another explanation.’

Alice caught his eye. ‘I hope so,’ she said. ‘I really do.’

Tom

Tom sat on the couch in his parents’ living room, holding Joanna on his knee. His dad was in the armchair opposite him. He was wearing a tweed cap to hide his head, but it did nothing to disguise the missing eyebrows, or the hollow cheeks.