‘And it’ll fly until next week,’ her grandfather said. He held out his hand and she took it.

‘One more thing for Grandy,’ she said, pulling her hand free. From a pocket she extracted a little item, which she laid in the urn of fresh flowers. Middleton saw that it was an ‘Employee of the Week’ badge.

‘Did your dad give you that?’

‘Yes. He said you gived it him for being brill at his new job. And he gived it me for being brill. So I want to give it Grandy for being brill.’

He nodded. ‘Daddy sure is brilliant. And I’ll get you a badge for Mummy, because she’s brilliant, too.’

She cast her eyes downwards. ‘I wish Mummy was here.’

‘I know. But this is normally our Sunday together, isn’t it? Our Sunday with Grandma. And Mummy told you she had to go away. You remember?’

Josie nodded. ‘Because of the bad thing she done. She has to stone.’

He ruffled her hair, which shone like battery wire in the sun. ‘Atone, darling. She has to atone. Like sitting in your Calm Corner. But she said she’d phone you this afternoon, didn’t she? Come on, it’s time to go and get your dinner. Your auntie’s doing her special roasties again. How can we miss those?’

They turned from the grave and, hand in hand, headed along the path. Ahead, two big men waited by a car. Josie said, ‘Them men, Grandpo. They protect us, don’t they? Because there might be people who don’t like what Mummy done?’

‘They’re there so people don’t come and try to ask us questions, sugar. Some people in this world aren’t nice.’

‘Like those people who taked me away.’

He stroked her hair, but didn’t answer. But he was glad of her smile and what it said about the heart of the mind that put it on her face.

‘But we don’t need them big men because I have super-luck and I’ll give you and Mummy and Daddy and Auntie Janie all a luck-wish each. Did I show you this what Mummy gived to me?’

‘You did, you did,’ Middleton said as his little granddaughter lifted the new pendant on her special necklace and shook it at him. ‘But you don’t need to do anything for us, sweetie. We already got all our wishes granted.’

Many miles south, Anna called Nick’s name through the iron bars, her heart full of dread. He stopped and turned. But he didn’t ask what was wrong, as she expected. She was ready to tell him she was scared, that she couldn’t do this. But instead of asking, he held out his hand.