‘You sleep tonight. Travel tomollow. Short distance to Seremban. Baby OK. You must rest each day. Maybe baby come early. You small ploblem…you see doctor before fly home…’

‘Thank you,’ I said. ‘Thank you for coming.’

Something like a shadow of a smile flitted briefly across his face and he nodded to me and left.

Jack came back and sat on the bed again. ‘He thinks you might have a slight problem with your placenta which might affect the birth. He said you must mention this to your own doctor on your next check-up…’ He grinned at me, looking relieved. ‘But we have a healthy baby and he has prescribed some Chinese medicine and ordered you not to strain yourself or overwork…’

I stared at Jack and laughed. ‘I think he was probably being ironic, Jack! Have you seen some of the pregnant women here? I saw an Indian woman in Singapore on a building site carrying bricks! She looked as if she could give birth at any moment. Me, overwork!’

I got out of bed and pulled my dress over my head and we both went out to talk to James Mohktar. We sat at a street café in this village that seemed to be a place people passed through rather than stayed. Jack ordered cold beer and Mohktar and I had icy fresh orange juice.

Mohktar spoke rapidly to the waiter and delicious small eats arrived. He smiled at me and pointed. ‘Those are spicy, maybe too hot for you. These you like, I think…’

‘You grew up in this part of the world?’

‘A little further up the coast, near Kajang,’ Mohktar said.

‘Will you see your family tonight?’ I asked.

‘No. Tonight I drive to Seremban and Port Dickson to talk to my colleagues. Your mother must have travelled by train, local or express, because we have been in contact with all taxis and car-hire firms in Singapore. She will have had to alight at Seremban and catch the local bus or taxi for Port Dickson. It may be that your mother will approach the police herself…’

His eyes rested on my face for a moment. I thought I knew what he was thinking. If Fleur had managed to locate the site of the grave, she would not find the small body still there. She would have to contact the police…if she was thinking straight.

Jack got up and walked away to pay the bill.

‘Try not to worry, Miss Montrose. We will find your mother very soon.’

‘The place where they found the grave, what will…?’

‘The site will be secured, Miss Montrose. There will be a policeman on duty while evidence is gathered and to prevent any access. The local police have been alerted to your mother’s plight and will contact us as soon as they have a sighting.’

I met his eyes, suddenly realising that I was so sure that the body in the newspaper would be Saffie’s that I had not even given a thought to the fact that it could be some other missing child.