‘Like shoving a girl in his boot and driving off with her?’ Baarda asked, motioning for the barman to pour them fresh drinks.

‘That would be where the similarities stop. Where did you get to with Meggy’s mother?’

‘Living in Guernsey, airtight alibi. Carmen – Meggy’s stepmother – claims her car was tampered with so she couldn’t drive to the school to pick up Meggy. We have no idea if that’s true, a coincidence, or an excuse and she’s involved.’

‘Poor kid,’ Connie said. ‘I need to go back to Elspeth’s yoga studio in the morning to speak with her instructor. They’ve known each other for years. If Elspeth was being stalked or felt concerned about walking from yoga to her car, her teacher might have noticed something.’

‘There was nothing in her statement,’ Baarda said.

‘I know. Might be that the police officer taking the statement didn’t see any value, but it bears chasing up. It really hit me when I was reading through the evidence folder.’

‘After that we should go and see her family. They’re desperate for an update and without any further leads, it feels as if we need to go back and see if there’s anything we missed,’ Baarda said.

‘Agreed,’ Connie said. ‘Although I hate the sense that we’re chasing our tails, hence the downtime now. I’ve immersed myself as much as I can. The only link I can find between the victims is that both Angela and Elspeth regularly took their kids to parks.’

‘Them and several million other parents,’ Baarda said.

‘I’m aware,’ Connie agreed. ‘But it’s all I have. What I really need is to think about something else for a few hours.’

‘Like vodka?’ Baarda smiled.

‘Like vodka indeed. Tell me about your name. Where’s Baarda from?’ Connie asked.

‘My father was the Dutch ambassador to the United Kingdom. He met my mother when he was posted here. They married and he never left. My mother was a socialite. They made the perfect couple. I had older sisters – twins – three years my senior. When I was thirteen, they went to a party, the house they were in caught fire, and they both died. I’d just started at Eton then, and I didn’t go home for a long time. I was sent to relatives during holidays. My mother never recovered, and my father worked increasingly long days. Eventually, he took a posting in Eastern Europe, and my mother became a shadow of herself. If I went home, which was rare, I was looked after by housekeepers and staff.’

Connie stared at him.

‘You said you wanted to take your mind off the case.’ He tossed back the remains of his drink.

‘I can’t imagine losing a sibling at that age. I absolutely adore my big brother. He was the only … wait, did you just tell me that to prove a point?’