‘Tell me.’ He sits heavily on the edge of their double bed, as though his legs can’t hold him upright any more, and stares down into his lap.

Catriona walks away from him towards the wall, where she splays her hands against the grubby cream paintwork for a moment before dropping them to her sides and turning back around.

‘Gracie… she got a bit mucky after her lunch – she had tomato sauce all over her face, in her hair. Such a messy eater.’ Catriona risks a glance at Darren, but his head is still bowed so she carries on. ‘I decided to give her an early bath with all her toys to play with – the stacking cups and all her little play characters. Of course, you know what she’s like – screamed blue murder about getting in, and then once she was in there having a lovely time with her toys, she didn’t want to get out. So I thought I’d drain most of the water and leave her to play for a bit longer while I did the washing up.’

Darren raises his head slowly. ‘You left her in the bath? By herself?’

‘The water wasn’t deep. Only a few inches. Honestly, it only just covered her legs. And she was so happy in there pretending to be the Little Mermaid. I… I didn’t realise she was in any danger. I didn’t know!’

Darren gets to his feet and runs both hands through his hair. ‘What happened?’

‘I… I finished washing up – it only took me a few minutes – and I went back in to check that she wasn’t getting too cold. And…’ Catrina’s mouth stays open. She can’t finish the sentence. All she can see in her mind is her daughter’s pale body face down in the water. Unmoving. ‘I don’t know how it could have happened! I don’t know!’

‘How what happened? What?’ Darren cries. ‘Was she injured? Not breathing? Did you check her pulse? Call an ambulance? WHAT HAPPENED? I need you to spell it out for me, Catriona. Where is our daughter?’

‘Don’t shout at me! Please! I can’t think straight. I can’t… I can’t…’

Darren clenches his fists and for a moment, Catriona thinks he’s going to hit her. Not that this worries her. She deserves it. It’s all her fault. She didn’t keep their daughter safe.

But Darren relaxes his hands and steps away from her. Sits back down on the bed and starts to cry, which is far worse than his anger. ‘Please,’ he whispers, shaking. ‘Tell me exactly what happened.’

‘She drowned.’ Catriona’s voice is flat.

‘No,’ Darren sobs.

‘She’s gone, Darren. Our baby is gone.’ Catriona stands there helplessly.

‘The paramedics… couldn’t they save her? Did they try? Did you try?’