I checked again, shifting the drawer’s contents around. No tape. Someone had moved it, taken it. Sean? Pushing the bedroom door shut, I went around to his side of the bed and quickly looked through his drawer, then the lining of his suitcase and the chest of drawers where T-shirts and shorts were neatly stacked, but no mini-DV tape. It was gone.

The sounds of laughter from the pool below floated up to me in the bedroom. I couldn’t hide up here forever. Checking my face quickly in the mirror, I took a deep breath and opened the door to the hall. Daniel’s bedroom door was slightly ajar. I gave it the lightest of taps and pushed it open.

My son lay curled on his side, engrossed in Harry Potter.

‘Was about to turn my light out,’ he said, putting the book down and taking his glasses off.

‘You can have ten more minutes if you want.’

‘It’s all right. I’m quite snoozy anyway.’

I sat down on the edge of his bed and brushed the hair off his forehead.

‘Are you OK after what happened earlier?’ I said. ‘Are those scratches and scrapes hurting?’

I held my arms out and enveloped him in a hug, feeling the warmth of his small chest against me, his sweet little-boy smell, his thin arms tight around me. Wondering how much longer he would let me hug him before he became too embarrassed, too selfconscious to do it any more. Wondering whether he would blame me for what had happened between Sean and me, feeling the heat of tears behind my eyes.

Don’t cry. Don’t upset him.

‘Are you all right, Mummy?’

‘Of course,’ I said, swallowing hard and trying to keep my voice level. ‘Why wouldn’t I be?’

‘And is Daddy all right?’

‘Yes.’

‘Oh.’

‘What makes you say that, Daniel?’

‘Dunno,’ he said, his little chin resting on my shoulder. ‘He seems a bit funny this week.’

‘Funny how?’

‘Just a bit weird.’

I released him from the hug and looked at him properly in the light of the bedside lamp. ‘Funny with Izzy?’

‘Maybe.’ He shrugged. ‘I don’t think he likes Jake.’

‘Why not?’

‘He keeps asking what we’ve been doing when we go out adventuring, says I don’t have to play with them if I don’t want to.’

‘Daddy just wants you to be safe, that’s all. Jake’s a bit of a daredevil, isn’t he?’

‘Hmm.’ He yawned. ‘What are we doing tomorrow?’

‘Something nice.’ I kissed him on the forehead. ‘Night, Daniel. Love you.’