‘DRAWN A BLANK THERE, I’M AFRAID.’ DETECTIVE Inspector Marsh has come to see me after interviewing Nick’s boss. ‘There’s been nothing irregular – the company accountants have been scrutinizing any transactions Nick’s been part of. They’ve been at it since Thursday and have found nothing to suggest any illegal dealings; so far, at least. I think you can rest easy on that score. Nick was a model employee: intelligent, trustworthy and exceptionally good at his job.’

I don’t feel relief, because I never doubted Nick’s integrity, but I’m glad it’s been officially confirmed. It’s a tick in a box. The police can move on to the things that really matter, the things I’ve been insisting are relevant.

Marsh tugs Toffee’s collar absently. The dog gazes up at him.

‘You’ve been around the block, haven’t you, boy?’ he croons, running the pad of his thumb over the inch-long scar that crosses Toffee’s nose, while my fickle little mongrel gazes at him slavishly. ‘I’m sure I’ve arrested someone who looks just like you.’ He twitches the file again. Opening it and flicking through the meagre sheaf of papers, as if something useful might appear. ‘What about your female friends?’

‘What about them?’

‘We can’t rule out the possibility that there’s a woman involved.’

‘I think I’d know if he was having an affair. I definitely would if it was a friend.’ I draw up a mental list. Kit, Mara, Susanna, Cherry and Cassie. Of all of them Cassie is the one Nick knows best, the one I’m closest to, but she’s not the type. I wouldn’t believe it of any of them. And Anna, of course. She’s never far from my mind.

‘What about casual liaisons?’

‘Highly unlikely.’ Nick goes on business trips, but I can’t imagine him sneaking into a female colleague’s hotel room or picking up someone in a bar.

Marsh looks at me pityingly. ‘He left the family home only hours after asking you to marry him. Maybe it’s as simple as a case of cold feet.’

‘A bit extreme, don’t you think? Nick is honest. He would have said something.’

‘Men can be cowards when it comes to women.’

‘It has nothing to do with that, nothing directly at least. It’s to do with the past. I’m convinced that the holiday, those three families getting together, and a child dying, is at the heart of this. Something threw Nick so badly that he had to leave. The brother of that little girl got in touch with him, and two days later he was gone.’ Day Zero, I think suddenly; and it fits. The day of Nick’s departure now has a name. ‘How much more do you need?’