Bea picked it up. She held her mother’s tiny wet, naked body in her arms, patting it dry. She thought it was fine, comforting her mother. She must remove herself, like a nurse, and be detached, because it was the right thing to do. Patiently, she dried her soft skin with the new towel, and helped her dress again.

‘There’s no point taking pills,’ slurred Liv, tears dribbling. ‘They don’t make any difference. Nothing does.’

Philip Roche was waiting by the front door, still in his jacket, and sweating.

‘There you are,’ said Griff as Liv and Bea came down. ‘All right, let’s go.’

‘We’ll see you later,’ said Bea. ‘Good luck.’

Bea felt strong, but disconnected, still frightened by the pain in her head. She wondered how far she could go, in this new world of compromise with her soul, before she broke.

‘Was your mum OK upstairs?’ said Dan at her side.

She didn’t know how to answer him.

‘Bea?’

‘She’s fine,’ she said, knowing he could hear her rage in her voice, unable to contain it.

Griff tucked Liv safely inside the enormous rented SUV, and got in beside her. He switched it on, just as a police car turned, sharply, into the driveway. It crackled to a halt. It was bright blue, with yellow chevrons on the bonnet, which shone garishly against the dark green of the bushes and trees. Griff got out of the car again.

‘What’s this now?’ said Griff. ‘Are they coming to get us? I thought we were going in ourselves.’

‘That was the plan,’ said Roche.

Two uniformed gendarmes got out of the police car and looked around at the faces.

‘Madame Durrant?’ said one of them.

‘Yes. Me,’ said Bea, in English.

‘What’s going on?’ said Griff.

The officer consulted a piece of paper. ‘Monsieur Durrant? Daniel Durrant?’

Roche trotted briskly over to them. ‘Good afternoon. My name is Philip Roche, I represent the family. What can we do for you?’ he said.

The three of them talked, quietly.

‘What the bloody hell is going on?’ said Griff.

‘Just a moment,’ said Roche. He left the two policemen, and went over to Dan and Bea.

Arun stood next to Griff, solicitous, as Griff glared, and Liv inside the car stared blankly ahead.

‘They want you to go with them,’ murmured Roche, bending his head towards them as if he were consulting with a client in the dock.

‘They’ve spoken to us already,’ said Dan.

‘They should have called first,’ said Roche. ‘They lack the tea-and-sympathy approach we’re used to in Britain.’

‘We’re not used to anything,’ said Bea. ‘It’s a first for us.’

‘Of course.’

‘I said, what the hell is going on?’ said Griff, with Arun at his side.

‘Look, there’s nothing sinister about it,’ said Roche to Dan and Bea. ‘But it’s best if you go along.’

‘In our car?’