Listening in her corner, Vera thought there were times when that was just what you wanted. To dull the mind. Whisky was her drug of choice, but she could see that television might work for some folk, the endless reruns of Morse or Midsomer Murders, the makeover shows and the talent contests, they might get you off to sleep at night.

‘So they had their meeting,’ Ashworth went on. ‘Mattie Jones, Connie Masters and Michael Morgan. Masters explained that they were concerned about Elias. He was losing concentration at school, subject to mood swings. Had they noticed any change in him at home? And Mattie – less than articulate at the best of times, according to Masters, a frail beauty who was hardly more than a child herself – only shook her head and looked sad.’ Ashworth looked directly at Holly. ‘And those words were taken straight from the inquiry notes. Michael said he’d tried to make friends with the boy. “But I’m not very good with children. Too self-centred, I’m afraid.” Then he added, surprising Masters, who wasn’t expecting such an immediate result, “Look, if it’s awkward, maybe I should move out. I don’t want to make things difficult for Mattie and Elias. That’s the last thing I’d want.” And Morgan was as good as his word. He was gone by the weekend, promising to stay in touch with Mattie, but going back to the flat that he’d never really given up at the complementary-therapy centre.’

Vera pushed her backside off the windowsill where it had been resting. It was time for her to take over now. Leave it to Ashworth, and they’d be here all day.

‘So the professionals all heaved a sigh of relief,’ she said briskly, ‘and thought the problem was solved. If anything was going on with the kid, then the cause of the trouble had been removed. Jenny Lister was the only one to counsel caution. She said Connie couldn’t assume Michael Morgan was at the root of the child’s anxiety, and told her to continue regular visits. Mattie was a damaged individual and still needed supervision and support. She sent an email to that effect to all the professionals who’d attended the original case conference. But Connie got distracted by the rest of her caseload: families with problems that seemed more urgent. And her own personal life was a shambles. She made a couple of flying visits to Mattie, who said everything was OK, but she didn’t see Elias again. It seemed that nobody spoke to Michael after that meeting at the flat. During the investigation that followed his death, it became clear that Elias was still having problems at school, but because of Jenny’s email, the teacher assumed Connie was involved with the family and was dealing with it. Almost exactly a year ago, the child died. He was drowned in the bath. Mattie drowned him. At first she said it was an accident, but during the first interview with police she admitted that she’d killed him. She blamed him for Michael walking out. And maybe she thought that if the boy wasn’t there, her man would come back to her.’