Robin hasn’t grasped what I’m telling him. He thinks the girl I saw is a toddler. Maybe I should let him continue thinking that. ‘No. Kate’s daughter, Bella, is exactly the same age my Holly would be now.’

‘So she looks how you would imagine your daughter to look now?’

‘Yes.’

Robin nods and writes in his notepad.

‘The thing is,’ I go on, feeling more in control of myself now, ‘she doesn’t just look like her, it’s more than that – her eyes are the same shade of green, her face is the same heart shape, she has the same nose, the same freckles, same hair colouring, everything. And her family have just moved here from the same area of London where Holly was taken.’

Robin’s soft concern falters for a moment as he begins to grasp what I’m telling him. ‘So, what are you saying exactly?’

‘I’m saying that there’s a possibility that Bella…’ I already know that this was a mistake. Robin’s features have rearranged into a sympathetic expression that screams doubt and cynicism. Not that I’m expecting him to say anything remotely unsupportive, but he’ll assume I’m some poor deluded cow who’s clutching at straws. ‘Never mind.’ I lean back into the sofa and wish I’d never let Matt persuade me to come here.

‘Please, go on.’ Robin’s soft concern is back.

‘It’s fine. I know what I’m saying sounds implausible.’

‘That doesn’t matter. You’re here to tell me how you’re feeling. Not to tell me what you think I want to hear.’

‘Fine.’ I sit up straighter. ‘I believe Bella might be my missing child.’ Saying it out loud like that is really quite something. My body feels strangely light, but I feel the air in the room grow heavier.

Robin’s nodding goes on for quite a while this time. I can see he’s gathering his thoughts. Deciding how to play this. ‘Have you told anyone else your thoughts about Bella?’

‘I told Matt.’

‘What does he think?’

‘Probably the same as you – that I’m mistaken. That it’s just a coincidence.’

‘I don’t think anything, Rachel. I’m just here to listen, and for guidance if you need it.’

‘Okay, sorry.’

‘It’s okay, don’t apologise. Have you mentioned your thoughts to anyone else?’

‘No. I can’t. Not without evidence.’

‘Have you ever mistaken anyone else for your daughter over the years?’