‘I’ve got a bad feeling.’ Claudia snatched a tissue from a box on the coffee table next to her chair. ‘I’m her mother … I just know something’s happened to my girl.’

‘It’s not unusual for children of Angelica’s age to go missing,’ Sarah said, trying to offer reassurance. ‘Especially during Halloween. Teenagers dare each other to spend the night in graveyards, or they go drinking and sleep in. It could be that she’s staying with a friend you don’t know about.’

‘But why isn’t she answering her phone?’ Claudia carefully dabbed at her eyes.

‘She could have turned it off,’ Sarah replied, but her words felt hollow. Claudia had every right to be concerned. She lowered her head as she completed the paperwork. It wouldn’t do to worry the mother at this early stage. She checked off the list of friends Claudia had handed her. ‘Have you called all these numbers?’

‘Yes,’ Claudia said. ‘It’s all over social media too.’

‘What about the Find My Friends app, have you got it on your phone?’ It was handy for keeping track of family friends and loved ones, although in Sarah’s experience, domineering spouses made good use of it too.

‘I installed it, but she turned it off on her phone.’

Sarah glanced through her paperwork. ‘And there were no family arguments recently … she wouldn’t have run away?’

Rising from her chair, Claudia walked to the rain-speckled window. ‘Never. Her clothes, her purse, and all her things are still in her room. I checked her online banking. Her account hasn’t been touched.’

Sarah was aware of that, although it was very early days. She also knew from previous reports that Angelica’s grades were slipping. She may have disappeared for attention. Her parents’ busy social lives took them away from home a lot. Or it could be that she was vulnerable, picked on by a predator who had gained her trust.

Sarah swallowed. Her throat was as dry as dust. It was coming up to lunchtime and she hadn’t eaten a thing. Her stomach rumbled in confirmation. It was quite a shock for her system to go without food for so long and the beginnings of a headache made itself known. At home, cups of tea and toasted Warburtons crumpets had been on tap. Her visit to Elsie might have put an end to that.

‘This is meant to be a safe community.’ Claudia’s voice was thin with worry as she stared out the window. ‘So why doesn’t anyone know where she is?’ But she was asking the wrong person, given that her husband was the one who penned the Upper Slayton slogan ‘Choose safety for your family’. In Sarah’s experience, complete safety was a promise that nobody could offer. Where was he, anyway?