The call came through at 11.07 am. Reverend Edwards from All Saints Church in Ainslie. Caruso slammed his fist against his thigh. Couldn’t the reverend have noticed the bag before the morning congregation had trampled the entire area? He and Suze hurtled across Commonwealth Avenue Bridge to Ainslie—the same suburb where Dr Parker’s teenage daughter had ended up a month ago.

By the time they arrived, the churchgoers had disappeared and Suze could park easily. The church was old sandstone with a tall belltower. Beautiful, if you liked that kind of thing. Caruso imagined brides chose the spot for its Instagram appeal.

The reverend was waiting for them, still dressed in his white robes.

‘I’m sorry but a child picked it up,’ he said straight away, presenting them with a plastic shopping bag. ‘She thought it had been dropped by one of the kids going off to children’s church. I’m terribly sorry.’

Caruso peered inside. A purple Dora the Explorer water bottle with a name tag stuck to the side: Bella Parker. One black shoe with a circular label in the heel. That name tag was decorated with fairies. The two pieces would be sent to Forensics, with everyone hoping for fingerprints or DNA evidence.

The playgroup would now be considered a crime scene but Forensics were unlikely to find anything there—too many people had traipsed through the area.

‘Can you please show us where the bag was found, Reverend Edwards?’ Caruso asked.

The reverend led them to a small alcove between the sandstone and the glass front doors. Had Bella and her abductor spent a night sheltering in the alcove?

‘You know about the missing girl?’ Suze said.

‘Yes, what a terrible situation. We’ve been praying for her to be found safely.’ The reverend sniffed. ‘We have one family who knows Bella. Some of the congregation have been helping with the search.’

‘Which family is that?’

‘Imogen and Lucas Lawrence and their twin boys. They’re obviously distraught.’

‘Were they at church today?’ Caruso asked.

‘No, I don’t believe so. I last spoke to Imogen on Friday about photocopying posters.’

Why would one of Bella’s shoes turn up at Imogen’s church? Had Bella been hidden here while the police were searching around Merrigang, on the other side of town?

‘Did you have a service last night?’

‘We had a wedding in the afternoon. The choir came to practise after that but they’d all left by six o’clock.’

From the alcove, Caruso looked back towards the street. Residential houses, no shops, no CCTV.

‘Do you have any alarms or cameras?’ Suze was reading his thoughts.

‘No cameras but we have an alarm system.’ The reverend smiled. ‘It’s to protect our wonderful grand piano, as well as the statues and stained-glass windows, of course. Let me show you around.’