Ian had said he would phone in his lunch break to see how Emma was getting on, and she now took the opportunity to make herself a mug of tea. She returned to the table and sipped it as she waited for Ian’s call, puzzled and worried by what she’d found out.

A few minutes later Ian phoned, his voice sombre. ‘Hello, how are you getting on?’

‘I’ve just finished. Without doubt those listed on the “Second Generation” spreadsheet weren’t patients of Moller but their parents were, and A.L. does stand for Anne Long. I’ll show you my notes tonight. But, Ian, something else has come out of this and I’m not sure what to make of it.’

‘What?’ he asked, anxiety obvious in his voice.

‘According to Moller’s spreadsheet, it seems that when Anne was the midwife, the babies never survived, and also she always took care of the disposal of their bodies. Just like she did with David.’

Emma heard Ian’s silence. Her discovery had clearly filled him with dread as it had her.

‘What are you thinking?’ he asked at length.

‘I don’t know. The couples were grateful at the time, but later some of them regretted they’d made the decision so quickly, like Chelsea and Grant. But it was too late by then. I feel very uncomfortable and sad about all of this. I mean, we didn’t give it much thought either, did we? We were too upset, so when Anne suggested she took David away, we agreed. We didn’t even say goodbye.’

‘No, but I think that was for the best,’ Ian said, remembering the glimpse he’d had of their baby.

‘Do you think there’s a connection between Anne Long and the Moller Clinic?’ Emma asked.

‘It would seem so. Why else would Moller have her details? Maybe she’s selling body parts to labs. There was that big scandal some years ago.’

‘Oh, Ian, don’t say that!’ Emma cried. ‘That’s horrible. I couldn’t bear the thought of David being in a laboratory.’

‘Hopefully I’m wrong,’ Ian said. ‘Anne wasn’t our midwife in your first pregnancy and that went wrong too. I seem to remember we weren’t allotted Anne for David straight away. The midwife was changed partway through your pregnancy.’

‘Yes, because we decided on a home birth and she was more experienced in home deliveries. If you remember, the hospital tried to talk us out of a home birth and said they couldn’t be held responsible. We had to insist. Then Anne came to our rescue.’

Ian was quiet again and then said, ‘I think I need to speak to Anne face to face.’

‘Shall I ask her to visit us? The last time I saw her she said to phone if we needed to talk.’

‘No, I’ll visit her.’

‘At the hospital?’

‘Or her home.’