‘That’s your way of saying I’ve lost weight,’ he replies, good-naturedly.

‘Well. You had spare,’ Josie says, and Robin snorts. ‘I’m sorry we haven’t seen you since… since Georgia died,’ she continues. ‘I tried to call—’

‘Let’s talk later,’ Robin interrupts, awkwardly.

He pulls away from Josie and receives a second embrace from Sandra, standing next to them. He towers over her, his six foot compared to her barely five.

It’s been nearly six years since he saw them last, at Georgia’s funeral. Josie’s still tall and slender, her build the same as her son’s, her grey hair now short and cropped. In contrast, Sandra’s got rounder, her rosy cheeks surrounded by a halo of ash-blonde curls. It’s his fault he hasn’t seen them. He’d ignored Josie’s calls, not wanting to talk about what happened, how Georgia died; entombed in his cocoon of misery.

‘You’ll sort this, won’t you, Robin?’ Sandra says quietly, and he nods, despite his reservations.

Robin points to Sophie, who is receiving a hug from Josie.

‘Sandra, this is Sophie, Finn’s girlfriend,’ Robin says, doing a quick introduction.

The women all smile at each other, but then expressions turn serious, as Craig comes over. Robin waits impatiently as she spends precious moments outlining the situation to the older women. Sharp’s death, Finn locked in the van, the confusion and lack of clarity over what’s going on.

‘…so any clues to his mental state would be invaluable right now,’ Craig concludes, explaining their need to visit Finn’s flat.

‘And I’m sorry to be pushy, but we need to go,’ Robin adds. He’s desperate to get there and see what they can find that might help them piece together this mess.

They all nod grimly and make their way down the stairs to Robin’s car on the lower floor. They climb in: Robin driving, Josie in the front, and Sandra and Sophie in the back.

They drive in uncharacteristic silence. Normally, with Josie and Sandra, the air would be filled with chatter. Personal questions about his life, his job, prospective girlfriends. Enquiring whether he is eating okay, getting enough sleep. Then when those topics of conversation ran out, they would move on to TV, to books, to whatever Josie had seen lately, out for her daily walk round the village.