‘I have no idea. I thought I knew everything about Nick, but it appears I don’t. For all I know, he’s embezzled the company’s millions.’

Marsh’s eyes show a flicker of interest. ‘Has he been spending large sums of money recently?’

‘I was joking. Nick’s very careful with his money.’

Back at home, I put on one of Nick’s sweaters. It envelops me and I can smell him in the soft wool. Tim and Cora are out, and it’s such a relief to have the house to myself that I feel a surge of physical happiness as I reclaim my space. Armed with a coffee, because I need as much caffeine as I can get to mitigate the effects of a succession of bad nights, I push open the door to Nick’s study, half expecting to find him there. He’s not, of course. I run my fingers along his shelves, pick up the photograph of me and Lottie and set it back down. I take his seat, swivel it round and settle myself at his desk.

I force my mind back to the days before Nick vanished. There were several significant events: he had a nightmare that terrified him; he asked me to marry him; he was contacted by Alex Wells. And one seemingly insignificant event – the one thing that Marsh showed no interest in – he went for a walk and paused at the same time as Anna Foreman. She could have been somewhere else entirely. Kai was at Hannah’s sleepover too, so she may have taken the opportunity to have a night out. It could be nothing, but now that I know Evan saw him with a woman, I don’t think it is; I think it may be everything. My gut feeling is that this has something to do with the part of his past Nick has kept hidden from me. The part that spills over into his dreams from time to time and causes those horrible hallucinatory visitations.

A woman. The thought leaves me breathless with anxiety, it sends heat racing up into my face. It sickens me. I ram my feet into the carpet and stop moving.

Stop it. Stop thinking this way. For heaven’s sake, if it was something like that, I would know by now. Think about practicalities. I cannot afford to let things slide, not with Lottie to consider. And Nick wouldn’t want me to either; he’d tell me to pull myself together. There is a very expensive roof over our heads and it’s up to me to make sure it stays here.