Stephanie nods. ‘Yes, at tea. We assume she spent the night here but neither of us saw her on Wednesday morning. When it got to breakfast time, she didn’t come downstairs and so James went to wake her, but her bed was empty. It looked as though she’d slept in it, though.’

‘So she left here sometime between Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning. Do you know if she went to school on Wednesday?’

‘She didn’t.’ As James Hampton shakes his head, his face is racked with guilt.

‘What time do you generally get up in the morning? Just so that I can get a picture of when Hollie may have left without you seeing her.’

‘I’m usually up around seven.’ Stephanie glances at her husband. ‘James is later, as a rule.’

‘So it’s reasonable to assume that Hollie had gone before then?’

Stephanie nods. ‘She could have slipped out while I was getting up, without me noticing, but it’s unlikely. Usually I hear her.’

But not impossible … I make a note. ‘So, that morning, when you went to wake her for breakfast, you wouldn’t have been concerned that she wasn’t in her room?’

‘No.’ James Hampton frowns at me. ‘I really don’t see how this is helping anything.’

I hesitate, looking at both of them. ‘It may seem trivial, but I need to establish what Hollie’s routine usually was – what was and wasn’t normal. When did you think about calling the police?’

‘I wanted to call that first night.’ Stephanie sounds resentful and my ears prick up. ‘But James thought we should wait. He thought Hollie was probably at a friend’s house. On Thursday, we gave her until the end of the school day, but when she still didn’t come home, we couldn’t leave it any longer.’

‘We should have called you sooner. I thought …’ James Hampton’s voice is shaking. ‘I never thought she wouldn’t come back.’

Placing her hand on his shoulder, Stephanie looks just as guilty.

‘Does she have a bank account?’

‘She does.’ James Hampton looks hesitant.

‘So does she have a Saturday job? Or an allowance?’

‘Occasionally she’s helped me in the salon – but not for a while.’ Stephanie glances from me to her husband.

‘Would you happen to know if she would have enough money if, say … she’d decided to run away? I’m sorry, but we have to consider the possibility.’

James shakes his head slightly as Stephanie speaks. ‘I’m not sure where she’d go.’

I pause, trying to think, wondering how sure they are that she hasn’t run away. Where teenagers are concerned, parents don’t always know them as well as they think. ‘Would you have any idea what she may have been wearing, or could you identify clothes that are missing?’