‘After I fell pregnant we had to think of a way to keep doing what we were doing, but keep you safe as well. So we joined the charity; it was a perfect cover. We had everything we could possibly want. Opportunity everywhere and no real scrutiny of what we were doing. A lot of the times these charity projects are largely invisible to the authorities.’

‘You have to go to the police. You have to give yourself up,’ I say, knowing she won’t.

‘I’m not going to do that.’ She dismisses the idea as if it’s of no importance. ‘I just wanted to see you one last time. I don’t have long left and I thought it was important to say goodbye,’ she tells me, the look on her face warm and loving. I know it’s a lie though. It’s no wonder I don’t trust people.

‘Why Mandy Green? Did you know she was Mr Morrell’s daughter?’

‘I felt it had some kind of poetic nostalgia to it. I was trying to get you to come here but I didn’t know where you were. I assumed the news reports would mention her father, but I guess I gave them too much credit. I didn’t think things would unfold the way they have; I didn’t think they would unravel completely. I wanted to talk to you and this seemed like the best way to do it. Doesn’t it feel like we have unfinished business?’

I can tell that she is itching to embrace me, she wants me to tell her I forgive her and that it will all be all right, that I will stay if she wants me to. She wants me to tell her that I still love her, and I can’t.

‘I didn’t even know if it would work when I took her. I was driving past the bus stop and saw her standing there. It was raining and she looked miserable. You can always tell when someone is ready to give up; it’s a gift your father and I both had, I think. She had that look on her face. I offered her a lift and she took it. I gave her a drink with a little something in it and she passed out before she had any time to process what was going on. It was almost too easy.’

‘Where is she? Is she dead?’ I ask.

I remember the photographs of the girls that I saw all those years ago; they had been subjected to all manner of unspeakable things over a period of time. There was a chance she had kept Mandy alive, especially if she thought my father was coming back with me; some kind of twisted welcome-home present.

‘That doesn’t matter. Only family matters now, darling.’