Julia reached down to pick up her handbag, puffing as she bent sideways. Caruso stretched forward, grasped the straps and passed it to her. A huge bag, an extra weight to lump around.

‘Before you do that, Mrs Fleming, just a moment, please. Did anything unusual happen this morning?’

The woman was already scrolling through the numbers on her mobile. She gritted her teeth again and groaned under her breath.

‘No, nothing unusual. Can I make this call now?’

Tara Murphy was up next—the one with red hair, spiky on top. Short woman with a loud personality. A toddler plus a baby in a pram. She’d already spoken to him a few times since he’d arrived. Caruso flipped open his diary but Tara was already speaking.

‘Aren’t we lucky that you’re here now, rather than that boy? Has anyone told you that you look like George Clooney? A much younger version, of course. You’ll find Bella, won’t you?’

From one extreme to the other—terrified Imogen and flirty Tara. The type who flirted automatically whenever she wanted to get something.

‘We’re doing our best, Mrs Murphy,’ he answered.

Tara scanned the room and leant in close to him, despite the fact that none of the other mothers was near enough to hear their conversation.

‘You know that Bella has a cast on her left arm? Well, the whole story sounds strange to me. And you should see Lexie’s cheek. It’s got a big cut along the bone here—’ Tara drew a line down her own cheekbone ‘—and it’s black and blue.’

‘How do you think Bella broke her arm?’

‘Let’s just say that nothing would surprise me.’

‘Are either of the parents violent towards Bella?’

The woman jerked back from Caruso as if she’d been bitten. Fine for her to provide innuendo, but he could see that she wouldn’t actually answer any of the hard questions with facts. When the Parkers came back from their search, he’d have to separate the parents to interview them. Caruso watched as Tara folded her arms against her chest. Perhaps there was violence in her own family.

‘I’ve met Dr Parker a few times and he’s lovely.’ She leant forward again. ‘He’s going to pull some strings and get Zoe into the best ENT specialist in Canberra.’

‘And Mrs Parker?’ Caruso prompted.

‘She’s got the perfect life—perfect husband, perfect house and perfect daughter.’ Tara suddenly seemed to realise what she’d said. ‘Fuck, where can Bella be?’

‘Were there any distractions inside the room?’

‘Those twins are always a bloody distraction. But apart from that, nothing out of the ordinary. Sammy was trying to pour a drink and he tipped a bottle of milk over the table. They were playing hide-and-seek before that.’