‘No, but you or James have to.’ I pause, frowning again. ‘Why on earth hasn’t he?’

‘Because he’ll be arrested,’ Stephanie whispers. ‘They produce images – of young girls. Some of the photos … they’re of children, Elise.’

‘God.’ Suddenly I feel sick. How could he get involved in child porn? ‘That’s even more reason to get the police involved. You can’t protect him, Stephanie. There’s no excuse for something like this.’

‘I know.’ As her eyes meet mine, she looks old, prematurely aged by worry and shame. ‘But he swears he didn’t know there were children involved when he invested. It will be the end of his writing career …’

It will be far more than that, but it doesn’t mean she should protect him. ‘That’s his problem. He should have thought of that before he got involved.’

She shakes her head sadly. ‘The irony is, he’s just finished a new book. He was about to send it to his agent, but then Hollie went missing.’

Suddenly, I shiver. I’m thinking of how Hollie was in the days before she disappeared. She’d seemed more erratic, more distracted than usual, even for her. ‘What if Hollie had found out?’ There’s a look of horror in Stephanie’s eyes as I go on. ‘She definitely seemed upset about something. What if her death is connected in some way? I don’t see how you can rule it out.’

‘You’re right.’ Her voice is low but she doesn’t meet my eyes. Then, as I watch her, I feel myself shiver again, realising she’s thought of this already and she still hasn’t told the police. Her voice shakes. ‘I need to ask you one favour.’

While I sympathise with Stephanie and James over Hollie’s loss, I can’t feel anything other than disgust about what she’s told me today. ‘What?’

She hesitates. ‘I know it’s a lot to ask …’ Her eyes fill with tears. ‘But can you wait a few days before telling the police? If we could just have Hollie’s funeral … I don’t want her memory tainted by whatever mess her stupid father is caught up in. For that one last day, I want everyone to be thinking about her. After that, the police can arrest James, for all I care. I won’t be around to see it.’

Her words surprise me. ‘Where are you going? What about the salon?’

‘I’ve given notice on the lease.’ Her voice is emotionless. ‘As for where I’ll go … I don’t know yet. There’s nothing for me here. I need a clean break. To somehow start again, somewhere – anywhere – far away from here.’