‘So, have you got the results?’ Bella asks.

‘We have,’ the man says. ‘And I’m not sure whether you will be pleased or disappointed.’

‘Tell us then,’ Molly snaps. ‘Don’t keep us in suspense any longer.’

‘I’m afraid your DNA shows no match with the bones that were found at the lake, Ms Goddard. This makes it very unlikely they are your brother’s. They are human bones, though, but it is possible they could be very much older, perhaps dating back a century or so.’

No match. The news is dizzying and for a few seconds Molly finds it hard to breathe. She was so sure it would be him. If it wasn’t Jimmy in the lake, then all of the imaginings that have been running through her head, keeping her awake throughout the night, were for nothing. Perhaps, after all, he did not take out Robin and capsize her, or try to swim back from the island after getting marooned when the little dinghy was blown away by the rising winds. He did not drown, nor was he attacked by a vengeful dragon.

‘Mum?’

She drags herself back to the present. ‘What does this mean, Officer? If the bones are not his, then where is he?’

Beard-man shakes his head, slowly. ‘I’m sorry . . .’

If there is no body, then perhaps Jimmy did not die, Molly thinks to herself. She has always cherished this slight glimmer of hope, although she knows it is absurd. The doctors predicted that, with his heart condition, her brother might not even make it to twenty, let alone nearly eighty, as he would be now.

‘And the piece of red fabric?’ she asks. ‘Did they analyse that?’

‘Yes, it is just a piece of ordinary plastic. Probably a fertiliser bag, they said.’

‘Just what I suggested, if you remember,’ she says, enjoying a crumb of comfort from this little victory. Nothing to do with Robin, then. Or even Jimmy’s raincoat.

‘Are there any grounds for reopening the case?’ Bella has been silent up until now.

‘We’ve checked back in the files and we are satisfied the police at the time carried out every possible line of enquiry. They found no evidence of foul play, nor did they find a body. There are no grounds to reopen the case, unless we find new evidence. Unfortunately, these DNA test results mean there is no further evidence. We will be in touch, of course, if anything else comes up,’ he says, and they gather up their things.

‘We understand you will have been hoping for some kind of closure about your brother, Miss Goddard,’ the policewoman says. ‘And I’m sorry we couldn’t bring you more positive news.’ She stands up, and her colleague stands with her. The room feels strangely empty and hollow, once they have left.

‘What the hell is “closure” when it’s at home?’ Molly grumbles.