Patricks wraps her up in his arms again, rocking her as she cries. But Chloe sees something that no one else in the room would notice, a relief in him that is almost palpable. She had been found not far from where he’d left her. They had been looking in the right place all along.

‘You may remember there was a building site nearby the park at the time of Angela’s disappearance . . .’ the detective explains. Patrick and Chloe quickly exchange glances. ‘That building site is now a care home for the elderly.’ She stops to check her notebook. ‘Park House.’

Chloe looks up quickly at the mention of Park House.

‘Park House was under construction at the time of Angie’s disappearance, and recently they’ve been having some building work done. The ground was disturbed during those excavations at a copse at the back of the care home and so during our search for the other missing person, Angela’s body was found in a shallow grave.’

‘She was that close by all the time?’ Patrick says.

Chloe looks to the detective, as eager as these two parents for an explanation that will make sense right now.

‘There have been diggers and all sorts of building equipment raking over that earth recently while they were excavating footings for the new extension at Park House,’ the detective explains. ‘We deepened and extended the search area for the other missing person, and that’s when Angela’s remains were discovered.’

‘So no one . . .?’ Maureen can’t finish her sentence. But everyone in the room senses a mother’s need to write off the unthinkable after all these years.

The detective shakes her head. ‘No, it seems from what can be understood by forensics that her death was a very tragic accident. There’ll need to be a full post-mortem, of course, but we don’t suspect any foul play and at this stage, we’re not launching a murder investigation. I’m just so very sorry.’

‘But it doesn’t make sense . . . I mean, surely that building site was searched at the time . . .’ Maureen says.

‘We have no way of knowing how thoroughly it was searched all those years ago, perhaps resources were allocated elsewhere – it appears that mistakes could have been made and we can of course review the case if you—’

Maureen shakes her head and looks at Patrick. ‘I just want this over now, Pat. I just want Angie properly laid to rest.’

He nods and pulls her in closer.

The room falls silent, and Chloe – still holding the empty tea tray – shuffles from one foot to the other. She feels twitchy somehow at the mention of Park House. She needs air. She needs to breathe.