Oli sits, the tension leaving her body. Checks her phone. She retrieves the diary and flips back to October. Isabelle wasn’t supposed to be working on the Saturday that Evelyn died, the words day off printed along the top of that weekend. Dean must have hated the randomness of her job, even more unpredictable than Oli’s and a hell of a lot more demanding. Rusty used to joke about bringing home the smell of death with him some days, but it was true—sometimes tragedy and evil hovered around him like a fog, turning the air in the house or his car to an unpleasant fleshy odour like spoiled meat. Isabelle must have been the same, or worse.

Quickly, Oli checks the poolside area for the girls. Kate is on the bench waiting for her next heat, while Amy is sitting with a group of girls to the left of the pool.

Oli turns the pages to 12 October, just over a week after Evelyn died. Several familiar names are listed, including Evelyn’s parents and Miles Wu, and Julian and Diana McCrae. Oli recognises references from other high-profile stories. There are two court appearances the following week, and an appointment with Michael and April Carter, the couple whose little girl was taken.

A whistle cuts through the buzz. Kate and her competitors launch into the water, and she instantly falls behind three girls who are very strong swimmers. Oli shifts her weight on the wooden slats; her arse isn’t used to the hard surface, and she didn’t think to bring a cushion like the other parents.

She thumbs through the rest of the 2005 planner. She assumes AR is Alex, as there are several references to this in the weeks after Evelyn’s death. There are a few questions at the bottom of some pages, and a few notes about tests for Nicole’s DNA at the scene and Miles’s bank statements, but nothing stands out.

Frustrated, Oli turns her attention back to the pool. The race is over, and Kate is climbing out of the water. Oli watches as she falls into step with another girl and sits with a group of families who are set up in the front row of the stands. Oli has no idea if Kate placed or not; her face gives nothing away. A woman in a bright-pink hoodie offers her a giant smile and something to eat.