‘I didn’t have any direct contact with the family liaison officer that was assigned to us, it all went through Mum. I’ve no doubt she was told when he was released but she’d never have told me.’ Jodie smoothed her hands over the lid of the box. ‘She never mentioned what happened again, you know, not in all the years.’

Rivka popped the last piece of a chocolate éclair into her mouth. ‘I should have bought two each,’ she said, running a finger over the chocolate that stained the plate. She licked it off, then stood to rinse her sticky fingers under the tap. ‘Wasn’t there anything among her papers about it?’

‘There was a writing desk in the living room of our house, an ugly piece of furniture with every drawer crammed with old bills, tax forms and bank statements going back decades.’ Her eyes softened at the memory. ‘Honestly, everything was shoved into it.’ She stayed lost in time for a moment, then felt Rivka’s eyes on her pulling her back. ‘After she died, when I had to sort out everything, I discovered the desk was almost empty. Mum had known she was dying and destroyed everything apart from her will and information about investments.’ Jodie pushed her empty plate away and picked up her tea. ‘I know there had been files of documents relating to Victor’s arrest and prosecution; I’d seen them when I was looking for a postage stamp one day but I didn’t want to look at them and left them untouched. I suppose Mum thought it was best to get rid of it all.’

‘So, you’ve no idea where he is?’

Jodie shook her head slowly. ‘No, but he won’t be hard to find. He was put on the sex offenders register for life.’

Rivka sat back with a groan. ‘You should go to the police, not go looking for him yourself!’

‘I didn’t say I was going to look for him–’

‘You said, won’t, not wouldn’t. That implies you’re going to go poking around.’

‘Not poking around precisely,’ Jodie admitted. ‘I can contact the family liaison who was involved in my case or if she’s retired, which is quite likely, whoever has taken over her workload and ask where he is.’

‘And they’ll tell you just like that?’ Rivka looked dubious.

Jodie shrugged. She wasn’t too sure what her rights were. But if she couldn’t find him that way, she’d find him another. ‘I can ask, no harm in that. Anyway, let’s talk about more cheerful things, like my being fired.’ Her grin was forced but it raised a sympathetic smile on her friend’s face.

It didn’t take long to give Rivka all the details. There weren’t many to give.

‘It’s a crazy situation but at least you’re able to get another job.’