Then Alan came to a decision and put down the statement. ‘If you’re in any kind of trouble, we don’t care what it is, we just want you home. Your mum and I… we’re not angry, we’re just very upset. If you don’t want to come home…’ His voice was growing in strength, becoming more impassioned. ‘Then please, please, contact us to tell us you’re okay. Ring us, me and your mum just want to hear your voice, or you can ring the police if you prefer. We want to know you’re safe. And if you’re being held against your will, then I want to appeal directly to the person who is holding you…’

He dropped his gaze to the table, trying to compose himself, and the room filled again with the click and whirr of camera motors and flashes, as the media captured the strain and anguish on his and Jessica’s faces.

‘Sammi is our little girl and we miss her deeply. Maybe you’re a parent yourself – if you are, you’ll know what we’re going through right now. I ask you, I implore you, to look into your heart. Please… bring our baby back to us.’

Sasha felt tension crackle in the room. Ignoring the written statement, speaking from the heart, was the best thing Alan could have done. He’d made a direct plea to the kidnapper. His raw emotion was dynamite. Nobody – not even these hard-bitten journalists – could fail to be affected by Alan and Jessica’s agony. The press conference couldn’t have gone better. She’d take a couple of questions and then it would be over.

But then Michelle stood.

She turned to the assembled media, and the cameras and microphones immediately swung in her direction. ‘You know me and you know what happened to me.’

‘Ms Dormand,’ said Sasha. ‘I’m going to have to ask you not to interrupt.’

But Michelle ignored her. ‘And I have an announcement to make.’

Alan and Jessica turned in alarm to Sasha.

‘Ms Dormand.’ Sasha leaned again into the microphone. ‘I don’t think—’

The press crowded around her. One man thrust a recorder in her face. ‘What’s your connection here, Michelle?’

‘I’m the girl’s godmother,’ she said loudly, ‘and Sammi is very dear to me, very dear. She’s a beautiful young woman and so full of the joys of life.’

Lolly Chambers sidled up and touched her arm, trying to guide her to the door, but Michelle yanked away her elbow.

One of the reporters insisted, ‘Let her speak!’

Her team looked at Sasha, bewildered, do we close this down? But Sasha shook her head. The last thing they needed was for Michelle, a family friend – the girl’s godmother! – to be wrestled out of the room in front of the national media.