A few more minutes pass, disguised as hours. The three of us remain standing like helpless fools outside the playroom door. There is a moment when things quieten down but then he starts again. Crying, crying, crying.

When the howling reduces to a whimper, Amber is the first to break up the assembly. She lets go of my arm and walks back up the stairs. Reluctantly Tom and I return to the living room.

‘I hope to God he’s not like that every night?’ I say, lifting my glass from the coffee table and returning to my position on the sofa. ‘I’ve never heard anyone cry like that. It’s not normal, Tom, he’s like a wolf howling.’

Tom doesn’t speak but I can see the worry carving a whole new expression on his face.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Exhausted from lack of sleep and a head full of worry, I ring into work, asking for the day off. ‘A family emergency’ is how I put it, promising to be back tomorrow for the Friday rush. Megan tells me to take care of myself but she must be getting pissed off with my comings and goings of late.

Tom takes Kenny to school. First morning. Kenny can take the bus from now on. I’m not having our routine disrupted any more than it has to be.

After dropping the boys into the crèche I head to Donna’s for a moment of me time. ‘How is Mary Poppins doing?’ Donna holds the door open, the usual big smile on a face ready to burst into laughter.

‘Don’t,’ I say, lifting my open hand to her face while stepping into the hallway.

‘Can’t be that bad.’

‘Well, it is.’

‘A detective, Angela Burke, called here.’

‘What?’

‘Just for a minute, I asked her in but she hung out in the hallway.’

‘What did she want?’

‘She wanted to know If I could recall if you left the house at any time during the party? I told her you didn’t.’

‘When was this?’

‘Two days ago?’

‘Why didn’t you ring me, tell me?’

‘I was going to but then I said hell, the woman has enough to deal with I’ll tell her when I see her.’ I can understand Donna’s reasoning but I wish she’d called me.

‘Anyway, it doesn’t matter now, they have their woman.’

On the front page of the newspaper, there’s a passport photo which the cops must have got from airport security. Donna is holding the paper out for me to look at. ‘Don’t worry, Sal, they will find her, it’s just a matter of time.’

‘I hope so, my nerves are in pieces.’