But she preferred the anger. She couldn’t fabricate rage, but she could supplant fear with pain. She squeezed the photo cube hard, digging the broken top corner into her palm, hard enough to pierce the skin. And she would have squeezed and squeezed and wrung free every drop of blood, but a line of red trickle slid down the 3D image and made her gasp in shock.

Blood, all over Josie’s face.

‘Josie, no,’ she moaned, frantically rubbing at the photo cube. When the blood smeared, becoming an image a billion times worse, she shut her eyes and used her sleeve and didn’t look again until she was certain the glass glistened once more. Josie was back, and without blemish, all beautiful again.

But with her anger gone, pain dissolved, the void deep inside rapidly filled once more with despair.

9.11 a.m.

Nick walked into Josie’s room, where the crime scene investigator was re-fingerprinting the window sill. He’d heard DCI Miller order her people to give Anna some space, so the Family Liaison Officer was here, too. Since Anna had turned down her help, and he’d refused to talk, the lady had just been hanging around like a ghost, barely seen, barely heard. He’d heard DCI Miller order her people to be seen and heard as little as possible.

She asked him how he was doing, but he only nodded in response. He lifted the cover of Josie’s bed and found his daughter’s special camouflage-print teddy, Blaze, which slept by Josie’s feet to keep them warm. The teddy had been waiting for her when she was born, and she’d never slept without it. Ever.

But she wouldn’t have it tonight.

‘You know, last year had the highest number of child kidnappings this century, and it’s on the rise.’

‘Mr Carter, statistics like that don’t—’ She stopped as Nick pulled out a butter knife and drove it into Blaze’s neck, hard and deep.

‘Wow, what the hell?’ the CSI yelled. The FLO jumped back and spilled her tea all over the carpet. ‘Put the damn knife down. In here, quick! Knife!’

By the time both present and another officer who appeared had grabbed Nick, he’d already cut the teddy’s head off. He dropped both pieces as the knife was wrestled from his hands.

Anna appeared in the doorway, alerted by the noise. ‘What’s going on? Nick?’

She gasped when she saw the headless toy. ‘Nick, what have you done?’

‘This can’t end perfectly for me,’ he said. He shook the detectives off, and they let him go once the CSI had secured the knife. Nick picked up Blaze’s head and body. ‘Josie will hate me for ever for doing this. And I’m already scared about it. I’ll have to face her. That’s why I know now she’ll come back. Sod’s Law says sod the statistics.’