He smoothed a hair back from my cheek. His hand lingered there, then fell away awkwardly. He was thinking about the conversation we’d had two days earlier, the one that ended with me telling him that I was going to see Edie Christian.

The image of my husband pressing his lips to hers had haunted me for days but, compared with what we might be about to face, it felt like nothing. It felt utterly insignificant.

‘It might be good news,’ he said. ‘There’s always that possibility.’

I didn’t tell him that I don’t believe in good news any more. Or that, for me, it was no longer a matter of if we were told that Billy was dead but when. But I didn’t want it to be now. I didn’t feel ready. I would never feel ready.

‘Mr and Mrs Wilkinson.’ DS Forbes gives us the same look he gave us last time, professional but sympathetic. ‘I’m so sorry it’s taken so long to give you an update into Jason Davies’s claims but the investigation had to be thorough, given the nature of those claims.’

‘Claims?’ I say.

‘He confessed to the abduction and murder of multiple children.’

‘Oh my God.’ The horror I feel is reflected on Mark’s face.

‘The process for investigating claims of this type is extensive. We’ve had to liaise with the prison warden in order to take a statement from the cellmate and then we had to match dates with the known movements of—’

‘Just tell us.’ Mark’s grip on my hand tightens. ‘It’s bad news, isn’t it?’

DS Forbes shuffles forward in his seat and presses his palms to his thighs. ‘I’ll cut to the chase. There is no evidence to support the claim that Jason Davies was responsible for Billy’s disappearance. The dates don’t match up. He was nowhere near Bristol on the fifth of February. He was in Aberdeen the week before and after that date. We have several sources that corroborate that fact.’

‘Oh, thank God.’ Mark’s hand slips from mine as he slumps forward. ‘Oh, thank God.’

He takes a minute to compose himself, then looks at me. ‘It’s good news, Claire.’

‘Yes.’

‘Are you okay?’

I nod but the motion does little to shake the dark cloud that has engulfed me. I should be as relieved as my husband that Jason Davies isn’t responsible for abducting Billy but then I never thought he was. So why do I feel so numb and disappointed?

‘Are there any other leads?’ Mark asks DS Forbes.

He shakes his head. ‘Not at this time, although we are still following up on some possible sightings that were reported after the television appeal.’