I turn my head and contemplate his handsome face. Nick looks like him, but his bone structure is softer, less pronounced, his eyes and mouth more like Cora’s. I remember what Alex said about all the girls having crushes on Tim that summer. It’s not unusual for teenage girls to be infatuated with men in positions of authority, but Tim isn’t a danger to Lottie. I’d know. For one thing, my daughter isn’t scared of speaking out when something’s bothering her. Douglas is stirring where there’s nothing to stir.

Tim sighs and smiles. ‘If you’re going to keep things on an even keel, you need backup.’

‘But not the sort Cora provides. That’s more like a stab in the back.’

‘I’ll keep her in order.’

‘Tim, look. Don’t get me wrong, I’m fond of you, you’re Nick’s dad and you’ve always been kind to me, but Cora …’ I curl my hands into fists. ‘It’s not very comfortable having someone in the house who openly dislikes me.’

‘She doesn’t dislike you. She’s just not a woman’s woman. And she’s desperately anxious.’

We sit in silence, both of us looking at our hands.

‘We’re all hurting,’ Tim says eventually. ‘We’re all a little lost without Nick. Let’s calm down and take things one day at a time. For all we know, Nick might walk back in here tomorrow.’

I sniff back my tears. ‘He’ll get a rollicking if he does.’

‘That’s my girl. So we’re all good?’

I nod, defeated.

After he’s gone I throw myself back on the bed with a sigh of frustration. My phone rings. I reach for it, automatically checking the caller display for Nick’s name. It’s Marsh.

‘Did you get my message?’ he asks.

I sit up and drop my feet over the edge of the bed. ‘No.’

‘I spoke to Mrs Ritchie. She said she would pass it on.’

I close my eyes for a second. ‘She didn’t. What did you want to talk about?’

‘It was just a quick update. We’re following up a couple of leads and I wanted to let you know.’

‘What leads?’ My heart thuds as adrenaline shoots through my veins.

‘A possible sighting at Paddington station.’

‘Paddington? He must have been heading to Devon then, surely.’

‘Possibly. There’s plenty of CCTV, so we should know one way or the other soon. We’re looking into the information Evan Morgan gave us, trying to discover who the woman was he was talking to on the parade. We’ve talked to everyone on the class list you gave me, but none of them have admitted to being her. Do you have any idea?’

‘No. None. Did you speak to Anna Foreman?’

‘Yes. She said it wasn’t her.’

‘OK.’ I don’t know what else to say.