Her eyes narrowed as she felt a twinge.

Anna took her arm. ‘You should go sit down. Don’t overdo things.’

The detective nodded and shuffled away, and Anna put her out of her mind and entered the playroom. She stopped right in the middle and stared at Josie’s toys. Some people created shrines for their lost children, left their rooms intact over the years, like time capsules, but that seemed wrong. That would be like clutching on to a lost dream. But the thought of loading up Josie’s clothing and toys for a charity shop, of casting all her drawings into the bin, seemed worse.

No. She was determined that wouldn’t happen: Josie would get rid of those things herself, as a young woman who’d grown out of them. She felt her clenched fists send sharp nails into her palms, but the pain gave her motivation.

She picked up one of Josie’s Paw Patrol colouring books, which had a page of stickers inside. Josie had half coloured in the dog called Rubble. She stared at the picture and felt a mix of anger and sorrow. Cartoon dog and grieving mother: both needed Josie to complete them. Well, she would be back soon to do it.

There were only two people in the estate agent’s, a middle-aged man and a young receptionist. Nick stopped just inside the doorway, trying to buckle down his roiling emotions. If this woman had his next instructions, she was part of this, and he would have to roll with the pantomime. She seemed to have her act nailed down, the way she smiled at him as he approached. No fear of attack, or arrest. A perfect act. She asked what she could do for him. He wondered if she was the kidnapper’s girlfriend. The male was typing away on a computer, oblivious. There was a real temptation to grab this girl, to take his own hostage and… what, swap prisoners? The bizarreness of this whole shebang was becoming dreamlike. He squeezed down on the phone in his hand, like an anchor to keep him in the nightmare lest he forgot what was at stake.

‘Sir?’

‘A chill wind takes the warmest leaves from the highest trees.’

Even before he heard laughter from the phone in his hand, the girl’s puzzled glare told him what he needed to know. He managed to hold back rage until he was clear of the branch and pacing the pavement.

‘You piece of shit. What the hell are you playing at? Where’s my girl?’

‘Okay, Nicky-boy. Calm down. I was testing to see if the cops would swoop if they thought they had one of us. You passed the test so let’s get down to the real deal, okay? Are you calm now? Do you want your girl or not?’