At this point I would like to talk about Christian’s father. I have signed a gagging order but I am willing to break this to provide some background to the police. I have provided Detective Constable Yvonne Townsend with a copy of this order to show that I am telling the truth. I met Christian’s father in July 1994. I was fourteen years old. My parents were very strict. I wasn’t allowed out on my own. But that night I was allowed to attend the screening of Jurassic Park in Slayton’s outdoor cinema. I told my mother I was going with my friends, Maggie and Sarah, but in truth they hadn’t invited me. I wasn’t part of their gang.

‘No,’ Sarah said quietly as she took in Elsie’s words. She was right. Sarah’s gang of four had been watertight. Her heart melted for Elsie, the awkward young girl desperate to fit in. Sighing, she scanned the rest of the page.

I didn’t realise then that my date had only met me as part of a dare. He said he liked me. He drove me somewhere we could be alone. I cried myself stupid when he later told me why he’d taken my virginity. Slayton is a small town, and every summer the privileged kids would make up a dare. This wasn’t a twenty-four-hour thing – they took it real serious. They played the long game. The summer Christian was conceived, the dare was to see how many cherries they could pop over the course of six weeks. I was a prime candidate as the pretty girls were wary of their games. Out of all the girls he’d slept with, I was the only one to get pregnant.

Sarah’s jaw stiffened. It was all slotting into place. Simon Irving. She recalled both Irving and Elsie in the photographs at Slayton’s outdoor cinema event.

‘Arrogant bastard,’ she muttered beneath her breath. Always in the background, always lurking. Slayton’s so-called saviour was nothing but a predator. He thought he was untouchable. She remembered how he had flirted with her, how she’d pulled away as he tried to drag her into his car. Anger rising, she forced herself to read on.

I told the father before I told my parents. It was too late to have an abortion by then. There was a meeting between the parents. An illegitimate child had not been factored into their son’s life plans. A pay-out was offered, and a monthly amount for the rest of Christian’s life. All I’d wanted was for someone to rescue me, but I hadn’t the sense that God gave a goose. As Mom once said, ‘If you can’t play with the big dogs, stay under the porch,’ and that’s just what I did.