‘Your father needs me,’ said Ursula when he’d left. ‘The flat will be an absolute tip by now and… well, coming here has taught me that perhaps things aren’t so bad at home. He’s not perfect, but it’s not a war zone like here. Your family are in and out of this house like ships in the night. Angel, Denny, Kevin… you.’ Her mother looked around sadly; once she left, it wouldn’t take long for the house to become hopelessly untidy. ‘This is a lovely home, but what’s the point of it if you can’t all enjoy each other’s company?’ Ursula telescoped the handle of her trolley case, whipping it around in her hand, and gave Sasha a brave smile. ‘I’m sure you try your best as a mother.’

‘I am a good mother!’ Sasha called in irritation as Alec loaded his wife’s case into the car. ‘I am, and we’re a happy family. Don’t you worry about us, you get back to your sea view and your lager!’

Her parents waved blandly as they drove off.

Sasha looked at the time, anxious to get back to work; it was unfair to let everyone else shoulder the workload. She saw that Vaughn had emailed her about some meeting he wanted her to attend to reassure local worthies about progress in the investigation. Maybe with the description Craig and Lolly would provide, they’d be able to get an e-fit of their main suspect to the media this afternoon.

But right now Angel was her priority. It wasn’t like her daughter to go AWOL for so long. Sasha phoned her again but the call went to voicemail so she left a message, because there was nothing else she could do.

‘Call me back, Angel. I’m very sorry if I shouted at you…’ She winced. ‘I did shout at you, and for that I apologize. I just want to make everything better. Give me a ring as soon as possible. Please. Love you, bye.’

Sasha wanted to phone the mums of her daughter’s friends, but realized she didn’t have any numbers. She hardly knew Angel’s new crowd.

There was one number she had, though. Tilly’s mum, who had ignored her on the street the other day, might know some of the other parents. Sasha would bite the bullet and also take the opportunity to apologize for Angel’s behaviour. To her surprise, the call was answered.

‘Hi,’ she said, speaking as quickly as possible. ‘It’s Sasha Dawson, Angel’s mum. I know things haven’t been so great between our kids, but I was wondering whether Angel was with Tilly right now?’

Tilly’s mum said, ‘Never call this number again.’