I’d never considered Hollie as anything but harmless, but I understand DS May is trying to establish her own picture of a girl she’ll never meet. ‘No more than anyone else.’ I meet her eyes. ‘I liked that she had a friend in the village. Hollie could be flighty, I suppose, but I didn’t worry about them spending time together. Niamh’s fourteen. You can’t watch over children forever – you have to let them grow up, be themselves. I think that’s one of the reasons she and Hollie got on. However unhappy she was feeling, Hollie was always herself. I think Niamh admired that.’

DS May frowns. ‘Would you say she was often unhappy?’

I sigh. ‘Not particularly. We’re all different, Detective Sergeant. Hollie could be volatile, emotional, high-strung. She was smart, too, but I think it’s fair to say she thrived on having a degree of drama in her life.’ It’s how I’d always seen her. She wasn’t the kind of person to be content with a quiet life. She should have been an actress.

‘What about her father?’ This time, DS May looks openly curious. ‘Can you tell me anything about him? He wrote a bestseller, didn’t he?’

I nod. ‘He’s written other books since, though I don’t think they’ve done so well. But the family seems to have a nice lifestyle – and Stephanie has her salon.’

DS May nods thoughtfully. ‘Hollie got on well with Stephanie?’

I shrug. ‘As I told you before, I didn’t really spend time with them as a family, though I’ve been to Stephanie’s salon a couple of times. The last was just before Hollie disappeared.’ Pausing, I remember Stephanie seemed distracted. ‘I wasn’t aware of any animosity between them, but she said she was finding Hollie difficult. Stephanie meant well, but when she married James, she took on a grieving stepdaughter. Something like that doesn’t come without its challenges.’

‘You sound as though you knew Hollie quite well.’ DS May watches me carefully.

‘It’s a village.’ I sit back, looking at her. ‘There aren’t many of us here, and because Hollie spent so much time with Niamh, there was a certain familiarity between us. I don’t think there’s anything unusual about that.’

She shakes her head. ‘Of course not. To be honest, I’m struggling to find anyone other than her father who knows Hollie more than just in passing.’