Phoebe wasn’t persuaded. I noticed her judgmental frown as we worked our way through my lesson plan; she corrected me a couple of times and flounced around like a little diva. She would point things out as if I couldn’t see them for myself. ‘Oscar’s under the desk, miss.’ ‘George won’t give Chloe the scissors.’ ‘Miss, this is too hard for Caleb.’ It was like having a very vocal caseworker in the room.

At recess, staff kept sidling up to me and asking about Krystal.

‘I hear she’s done a runner,’ Prue said. ‘I don’t blame her. Do you know where she is?’

Deb told me that Joyce had been parading around town, bombarding various shopkeepers with tales of how Krystal had packed up her battered blue car and driven away. How Mitch had received a text after she’d gone. How he’d kept it a secret until confronted by the police on Monday afternoon.

‘Joyce is saying you’re involved,’ Deb went on. ‘She’s saying you have some of Krystal’s stuff.’

‘One couch. That’s all.’ I was beginning to wonder if I’d been manipulated—if Krystal’s vague, tormented persona had been a façade, designed to take advantage of me. Had she planned everything, right down to the moving-house ploy that had allowed her to pack up all her household goods without causing suspicion? Or had her flight been a last-minute impulse—possibly sparked by a legal setback?

Perhaps Scott’s latest attempt to freak her out had worked too well.

‘You’d better be careful. If the Rooneys are on the warpath, they can do a lot of damage.’ Lowering her voice, Deb asked, ‘Your ex ran off with another woman, right?’

‘Right.’ Because I couldn’t have kids. I’d mentioned this to Deb over our first round of drinks together.

‘Well, Joyce told Petra that you were the one who ran off with another woman. And you’ve been helping Krystal because…well. You know.’

‘For God’s sake.’

‘You might want to stamp on that.’

Even Howard approached me after school. In the middle of a discussion about Caleb’s progress, he suddenly said, ‘Aaron’s management plan is on hold for now, of course. I don’t suppose you know when he’ll be back?’

I flushed. ‘No.’

‘I’ve heard of cases where children have vanished for a year or more.’ Howard sighed and shook his head. ‘Parental abduction is very bad for the child. There have been studies.’

‘I know,’ I said through clenched teeth.

‘The longer he’s away, the worse he’ll be when he shows up again. We’ll all find ourselves back at square one, which is very annoying—though I imagine you’re not sorry he’s gone.’

‘Howard.’ I looked him straight in the eye. ‘This had nothing to do with me.’

‘Of course not,’ he said, without much conviction.