He stared back at her with a look that told her he didn’t give a fig as to why she had a small purple backpack.

Jill zipped it open and started pulling things out. ‘Kid’s clothes,’ she said. ‘A stuffed toy . . . This doesn’t make any sense.’

‘Mum, are you serious? Why the hell do you care what Andrea has in her car right now? Maybe they’re gifts.’

Jill dropped the bag and held up a small white T-shirt with a giant blue star on the front. ‘I’ve seen this before,’ she said.

‘What are you on about?’

‘At Tony and Andrea’s building . . . the little girl in the elevator.’

Jill swung away from Darren and grabbed the older paramedic by the elbow.

‘I think there was a child travelling in this car. And I don’t know where she is.’

*

Mimi

The word spread quickly that a small girl was missing and everyone needed to fan out and search. Mimi didn’t entirely understand who she was or how she was involved, only that the police were trying to keep everyone calm and coordinate the frantic search so they had the best chance of finding her.

Mimi didn’t know if it was the news there was child in danger that snapped Pete out of it, or if he simply finally realised there was no longer any hope of rescuing Tony, but he suddenly stopped struggling and slumped into her arms. There was a small explosion from the engine of the Lexus and the people who’d been trying to get close enough to pull him free had fallen right back, finally accepting there was no hope. The firefighters had their hoses out now, but it was too late.

Tony was dead.

And Mimi was to blame.

*

Darren

A part of him wanted to stay there where he’d collapsed onto the ground. He was worn out, physically and emotionally. The paramedics had strapped breathing equipment onto Andrea and were preparing to transfer her from the car to a stretcher. Darren was terrified that she wasn’t going to make it.

And his brother was dead. The firefighters were hosing down the flames but there was no chance Tony could have survived.

But the news that a little girl was missing pushed him to his feet.

‘It’ll be the little girl who lives next door to Tony and Andrea,’ Jill explained to him once others had fanned out to search. ‘I don’t know why, but I think she was travelling in Andrea’s car.’