It had been a week since they went looking for the coat and found the box. Ruby had repeatedly tried and failed to make Constance leave without it. Time was running out—Gregor’s words still rang in her head, the idea that he might be getting ready to send her to a “residential treatment program.” She didn’t believe that was his plan—not for a moment. It was too awful to try to imagine what his actual plan might be.

Perhaps she couldn’t save them both. She’d decided she would try once more, and then, if Constance wouldn’t come, she would simply take Leonie. It was monstrous to allow Gregor—and Constance—to continue to keep the child here. Ruby was prepared for a fight, a physical one, if it came to it. Leonie had to come first. None of the needs of the adults were as important as that kid’s safety. She was even prepared to phone Joanna, to let the police deal with it if her hand were forced. Anything was better than this. And if, as a result, the child was taken into care, then so be it. At least if Leonie were in care, she’d get to go outside.

Ruby opened the door to the flat with her key. Leonie was seated in the living room, cross-legged on the rug, facing the big screen, with headphones concealing her ears. Peppa Pig was on. Ruby kissed her on the head, but she was too engrossed to respond. Gregor wasn’t there; she could tell from the atmosphere. When he was in the flat, it thrummed with a certain kind of palpable tension, even if he was in the bedroom with the door shut. When it was just mother and daughter, there was a much more pleasant vibe. But there was nevertheless a background hum of vigilance, of awareness that they were being watched at every moment. That feeling never fully went away. Every word she spoke out loud was for the benefit of Gregor, to reinforce the things they wanted him to hear and to hide the things they didn’t.

Ruby could hear the shower shutting off in the bathroom, the sound of the glass door opening and shutting. “I did your shopping,” she called, going through and unpacking the bag in the kitchen. “They didn’t have the rice you like.”

After a short while, Constance appeared in the doorframe, her long hair wetting the shoulders of her top. She came into the kitchen and flicked the switch on the extractor fan, another trick allowing them to speak more freely.

“I found it.”

Ruby’s eyes reacted before she could think. She wanted to jump up and down but stopped herself. If she’d found the coat, they could leave right now. “Where? How? You’ve looked everywhere.”

“Everywhere inside, yes, many times. But he went out yesterday, and he didn’t lock the door. Come.”