–– He was not even allowed a dog. He loved dogs. He’d never use a puppy to groom children.

–– Jimmy wasn’t allowed to look at the stuff on the internet, and fair enough, after four hundred hours sitting in a circle, he now understood that the children he’d seen were real and maybe not as into the whole thing as they seemed to be.

–– Emily was legal.

–– She’d cost him half his savings.

–– His possession of and affection for the robot – a bit of rubber after all – caused no harm. There were no victims. He had found a legal way thanks to Mary’s hard work and the dedication of the groupworkers he’d listened to for four hundred hours, honestly at least a hundred more than was legally required. He had learned to analyse the facts, consider the options, and take the best course of action. For him, finding Emily was like a heroin addict finding methadone. No need to break and enter. A step in the right direction at least, no?

‘It’s way worse than creepy, Jimmy. Where did you get it?’

‘Online. I had her on order for months. Please don’t take her.’

Mary swiped at his phone again. ‘You know you’re not allowed to delete anything?’

‘I didn’t. A mate ordered her for me.’

‘What mate?’

Jimmy didn’t answer.

‘Not someone from the group?’ It was one of Mary’s fears – that the groupwork her team delivered was most successful in offering the guys a cosy networking environment.

‘No.’

‘When did you get her … it?’

‘Three days ago.’

‘And how many times have you used the doll for sex in the last three days?’

‘We’ve spent a lot of time together. I’m so happy, Mary, for the first time since Hilda died.’

Before he’d finished speaking, Mary dialled the Offender Management Unit. ‘Hi Minnie, I’m at Jim McKinley’s, and I’ve found a female child robot in his lounge cupboard.’ Mary covered the handset because Minnie’s response was less than professional. ‘Yeah … yep, about five months I guess … Yes, she’s called Emily … I know it’s not illegal, but there are, like, parts – It’s anatomically correct … Yes, that is what I mean. I want you to see this. Can you or someone pop over? I’ll get Jim to stay put but I have to go.’

Before getting in her car, Mary checked her work-issue Blackberry. There were three calls from an unknown number, three emails from business support with messages from Macdowall, a missed call from Dr Shearer (who was he?) and one from Fiona Bellwood. There was also a reminder that she had two court reports due at twelve and a MAPPA at ten. It was 9.53 a.m.