Ruth had committed a crime, and she would have to face the consequences, because her daughter couldn’t wait for her any longer.

When Alice passed under the blue lantern above the door of Marylebone Lane Police Station, she felt a fleeting sense of déjà vu. Her stomach gurgled yet outwardly she was calm, glad she looked more respectable this time. After all she’d been through, she now knew for certain that she would only get what she wanted by persistence and cunning, not by being compliant.

Although reception was busy again, the duty officer showed her straight to an interview room once she’d provided Sergeant Mildred Burns’s case number. Alice felt encouraged when the young policewoman appeared a few minutes later in her dark Women’s Branch uniform. “Miss Cotton, how are you?” she asked as she closed the door behind her.

On the way to the police station Alice had decided to reveal everything, and so she did: from the moment she’d found out she was pregnant and told her mother, to when she’d woken in Brighton to find Eadie gone, to her police station visits. Sergeant Burns interrupted with questions about her failed search, and she scribbled notes and asked Alice to repeat the information about her brother’s illegal adoption.

“Oh, and look at these,” Alice said, as she brought out the birth certificates. Then she pushed a folded piece of paper across the table with her aunt’s name and number and offered the police the opportunity to question Hope if they needed to. It had taken a long phone call on the way there, and the relaying of the disturbing contents of her research, before she’d convinced Hope to change her mind and turn on her sister-in-law. “So, this will all help, won’t it? This changes things.” She was hoping that by the time she left the station, her statement would be lodged and Ruth would be brought in again for questioning.

Sergeant Burns pursed her lips as she finished taking notes. “I’m afraid not, Alice. We’ve spoken to your mother, and she’s only told us what you already have. Unfortunately, there’s still not enough here for us to investigate further.”

“Why not?”

“Because we would have to charge her for child stealing under section 56 of the 1861 Offenses Against the Person Act, and it carries serious penalties. And she’s the grandmother, Alice. I’m sorry, and I have looked into it, but does it really serve anyone’s interest if we don’t have enough evidence to bring a charge? It would only raise your hopes when I’m afraid there isn’t any at this stage.”

Alice’s chest tightened. “I can’t believe that. Family members are often the perpetrators in these cases. What good is it if you can’t hold them accountable?”