‘Yes, it was just down the road from the convent.’

Jane knew it was St Mary’s. ‘Did you ask the priest if he knew Melissa?’

‘He said he didn’t but he offered to make some inquiries at the diocesan offices for me. I spoke with him again a couple of days later. He said he’d spoken with the bishop who showed him the letter of dispensation he’d signed for Melissa to leave the sisterhood. He told me the bishop said all the convent sisters’ details had been destroyed in the fire, and there wasn’t a lot the Church could do to help me find Melissa because she had renounced her faith and left the convent. But he was very understanding. I gave him my address and phone number in Canada. He said he’d contact me if he heard anything about Melissa’s whereabouts. But I didn’t hear from him again.’

‘Did he mention the bishop’s name?’ Jane asked.

‘Probably, but again, I can’t remember now. I didn’t know what else to do, so I returned to Canada. I hoped and prayed that one day Melissa would contact us, but as the years went by Fiona and I knew something bad must have happened.’ Jane thought she could hear him choking back a sob.

‘I’m deeply sorry for your loss, Mr Bailey. Our investigation is progressing quickly and I believe we are getting close to discovering who killed your daughter.’

‘Do you have any suspects?’ he asked.

‘Yes, but legally I can’t tell you who they are at present. We hope to make some arrests in the next few days. I will phone you to update you. If you want to speak to me, or there’s anything else you remember that might be important, just call me in the office. If I’m not here leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.’

‘Do you think someone at the convent killed her?’ he asked, sounding bitter.

‘We are looking at a number of possibilities. I can tell you Melissa had packed her suitcase and was going to leave the convent. We think she may have been killed on the night she tried to do so. It would be wrong of me to speculate any further . . . but rest assured we will find whoever was responsible for her death.’

‘I hope you do. Inspector Tremblay asked about Melissa’s dental records. I have them. The Kingston officer who advised us said it would be worthwhile getting them from our dentist in case our fears became a reality, which they now have. I was thinking of flying over to view Melissa’s body and arrange for her to be flown back to Canada for burial.’