‘They said he can leave,’ was the ambiguous response. ‘The psychiatrist will have a quick word, then we’re heading out the back way. Police presence here – big gossip. Nobody knows about the kidnap and we kept schtum about what actually happened to your man. The consultant is sworn to secrecy. I need you to do the same if you’re asked. We can’t have word leaking out. We don’t know if any of the kidnappers might be in the building. His overdose of ketamine was accidental, okay?’

‘They might be here?’ Anna said, shocked. ‘Have you looked at cars outside?’ She stood up, suddenly buoyed by the notion that Josie could be nearby. Nick had a death grip that Anna needed her other hand to break. It woke him up.

‘Oh, dear, don’t think like that. Just a precaution, that’s all. I’ve got people out there, just in case, but please don’t think it’s likely. We should get you back to your home, okay?’

Moments earlier the idea of going home hadn’t appealed. The hospital crowd somehow helped with the pain and the house had seemed like a big old reminder of tragedy, like footprints at a cliff edge. But now she was suddenly eager to get home. It was Josie’s home and being away emphasised their separation. She wanted to see Josie’s toys, her photographs, touch the lock of hair they kept in a vase and to stand in her room and inhale her smell.

But Anna remembered something she’d overheard Bennet saying to another detective earlier. ‘You want to move us to a hotel, I understand. To avoid the neighbours.’

Miller shook her head. ‘No, no, no. That was my superintendent’s idea, but I said no. He was worried about growing public interest. I said we can keep a lid on that, dear. You and your family, well, you need a comfortable place. You need to be at home.’

‘And the people who have my daughter will be calling there. They expect us there. We can’t give them surprises.’

Miller nodded slowly and gave Anna a comforting smile.

‘I dreamed Josie got kidnapped,’ Nick said. Both women stared at him. He looked from one to the other, and then around the room, as if he’d never seen it before. Anna’s stomach lurched as an old memory surfaced: her grandmother, riddled with dementia, asking where her beloved dog was and having to be reminded, almost weekly, that the animal had died months before. She was horrified at the prospect of having to inform Nick all over again that his daughter had been kidnapped. Sensing this, Miller put a hand on her shoulder.

But he rubbed his left eye and added: ‘And the kidnappers would only release her if I got on all the newspaper front pages for a crime the next morning.’