‘It was extraordinary, Bangladesh,’ Vivienne said. ‘I’ve visited my father in all sorts of places, of course. But never anywhere as chaotic as Dhaka. Have you been there?’

‘Yes,’ said Casey. ‘A couple of years ago.’

‘Dr Greystone told us when to fly out to Bangladesh,’ said Vivienne. ‘He was very precise.’

He could be, Casey knew. Those babies would be carefully timed, for the convenience of the new parents. Induced, quite ruthlessly, to a strict schedule. Or a C-section.

‘We were staying at a hotel in Dhaka,’ said Vivienne. ‘It was meant to be five-stars, but it was still pretty grim. No one from the clinic was there, so it was all a bit nerve-racking. But one day, a man just walked into the hotel lobby, with this tiny scrap in his arms. And there he was, our beautiful baby. Theo. I could hardly touch him. I couldn’t breathe. I loved him, right from the start. Loved him so much. Everything changed, just like that.’

‘Just like that,’ Miranda repeated.

‘You didn’t go to the hospital?’ asked Casey. ‘I know that in some surrogacy cases, the baby is handed over immediately.’

‘No,’ said Vivienne, a wrinkle between her eyebrows. ‘They brought Theo to us.’

‘So you never met the surrogate?’

‘No.’

‘You didn’t need to check he was yours?’ Miranda asked roughly. ‘That they hadn’t brought you some random baby?’

‘He looks . . .’ Vivienne stalled.

‘And then your father arranged the passport?’ Casey asked.

‘Yes,’ said Vivienne. ‘We flew home as soon as we could. We just wanted to get Theo back here, safely into our house. There was no problem at passport control. Not in Dhaka, not here. It was easy, really. Dr Greystone provided all the paperwork we needed for Theo to fit into the British system.’

‘Can you remember anything about the man?’ asked Casey. ‘The man who brought Theo to you?’

‘Not really,’ Vivienne compressed her lips for a second. ‘He was taller than the average Bangladeshi.’

‘So he was Bangladeshi?’

‘Oh, yes,’ Vivienne said. ‘I suppose so. I remember thinking he was taller than you might expect. But I wasn’t looking at him. The only thing I could see was Theo.’

‘Did he speak English?’

‘Yes.’ Vivienne realised she knew more than she thought. She pondered for a second. ‘I can’t remember his name though.’

The Labrador padded in, contemplated the room, then flopped down on a rug in front of the fireplace.

‘And then Josie?’ Miranda asked.

‘After all that, she just came along naturally,’ said Vivienne. ‘It can happen like that, they say. It felt like a miracle.’

‘So your father didn’t help you again,’ Casey paused. ‘But he did help other people.’

‘I don’t know,’ said Vivienne. ‘He never mentioned other people. And I’m sure he wouldn’t have . . . He was so angry when I first suggested it . . .’

The flood of realisation rushed into Vivienne’s face.