‘Gentle,’ LeBrac said as they passed by. It sounded more like an order than a request. The young girl was wailing in a language Bish couldn’t understand. He was finding it hard to read Noor’s mood.

‘She’s not having the baby out here, is she?’ he asked softly. He sensed a fragility in this dark, savage place.

‘She’s due soon. Her cousin won’t take the baby once it comes, and she hasn’t a place in D4. So it goes into the system.’

‘D4?’

‘Mother and baby unit.’

‘You work in that unit?’ he asked.

‘I show them how to feed and to change nappies.’ He felt her eyes boring into his. ‘Teach them how to cope without their children.’

Bish tried to stay focused on the reason he was here. ‘You need to hand over the letter,’ he said.

‘The guard in the mailroom has already forwarded it to the acting governor and she returned it to me,’ she said. ‘It in no way incriminates Violette, nor does it reveal where she is – those were their words, not mine. It was sent from central London, postmarked two days ago. She’s obviously not there anymore. The letter stays with me.’

‘All I have to do is make a phone call, Noor. I didn’t the last time as a sign of good faith between us. So why don’t you save me the trouble and hand it over.’

‘We’re outside,’ she said. ‘Which means you’re here as a visitor, not as someone from Special Branch. I doubt a phone call is going to change anything.’

‘I’m not with Special Branch.’

‘You’ve all come to look the same to me over the years,’ she said absently, her attention back to the sobbing girl a few tables away.

He tried a different tack. ‘Tell me about Violette,’ he said. ‘What sort of a kid is she?’

‘Tell me about your son.’

Bish felt stunned. ‘My son has nothing to do with this.’

‘I have a feeling your son has everything to do with most things you do these days. I met your ex-wife this morning. We had so much in common.’

Oh Rachel. What possessed her to allow this woman a glimpse into their lives?

‘I don’t talk about my children,’ he said, his fists clenching under the table.

‘Really? Yet you expect me to talk about mine. Why is that?’

‘Because I don’t think you and Violette keep secrets from each other, and I believe you know exactly where she is.’

‘Do you know what I think, Bashir? I think you and your family need to speak to each other more often.’

‘I’ll say this one more time. Do not talk about my family.’

‘What are you going to do? Have me locked up for life? Are you going to punch me in the face with those clenched fists?’

He hadn’t realised his hands were now on the table between them.

‘You know nothing about my family,’ he said.

‘I know about guilt,’ she said.