Sharon was clearly trying to play along with Jessica’s questions while also keeping a temper that seemed close to boiling point. Her voice was beginning to tremble. ‘Why are you asking?’

‘No particular reason, it’s just a question. Is there a problem?’

‘No, it’s just . . . what do you expect me to say? Of course I’d like to see them more.’

‘When was the last time you saw Marcus?’

The woman hesitated for a moment, thinking. ‘Three weeks ago at the weekend, we all went shopping for Christmas presents.’

‘What about Lloyd?’

‘At the same time.’

Jessica kept her voice as calm as possible. ‘What type of things do you usually do when you see them? Do you go to Adrian’s house or do you have the children on your own?’

Sharon hesitated. ‘Adrian will usually either bring them here or he’ll take us all somewhere.’

‘You don’t take Marcus and Lloyd anywhere on your own?’

‘Definitely not.’ The woman stared at Jessica, who knew Sharon thought she had given the best answer to suit her cause when, in fact, it was the worst one she could have offered.

‘And you’ve not seen Lloyd since that time you went shopping?’ Jessica asked.

‘No, of course not.’

‘Are you sure?’

Sharon’s anger suddenly boiled over. Jessica had seen the bottom of the woman’s nostrils begin to flare as the conversation had gone on. ‘How dare you,’ she shouted, taking a step forward. Jessica didn’t flinch, remaining on the kitchen stool as the other woman stood over her. ‘What are you trying to say?’ She stared at Jessica, eyes wide with fury.

‘Do we really have to do this?’

‘Do what? I want you out. Now.’

Jessica didn’t move. ‘Yesterday when I was at your son’s house, you more or less chased me outside. Your car door was wide open because of the shopping but there was something else in there too.’ Sharon stared back at Jessica. Her body language was defiant but her eyes, full of rage moments before, told a different story. She started to say something but couldn’t get the words out properly.

‘Why do you need a child’s booster seat in your car, Mrs Corless?’ Jessica asked.

The woman stumbled over her words for a moment but seemed determined to keep an upper hand she didn’t have. ‘Why wouldn’t I?’

‘You said you don’t take the boys out on your own and your son did the driving or brought them to you. If that’s the case, why would you need a booster seat?’

‘I . . . I have them sometimes.’

‘Really? You told me you didn’t.’

‘Not often, just every now and then.’ The woman was talking quickly, her words blending together.

‘So you only have the boys “every now and then” but you keep a booster seat permanently in your front seat just in case?’

‘Yes, so what?’

‘Where do the boys sit when you have them on their own?’

‘What?’

Jessica knew she was right. ‘When you have them “every now and then”, where do the two boys sit in your car?’

‘I don’t know, in the back. One in the front, I guess.’

‘Who sits in the front?’

Sharon stared hard at Jessica but reached out to put a hand on the worktop. ‘I . . . Why does this matter?’

Jessica tried to calm the speed of her words. ‘If they both sit in the back, you wouldn’t have a booster seat in the front. If Marcus was in the front, he wouldn’t need one because he’s old enough and tall enough to sit on his own without one. So why does Lloyd get preference to sit in the front?’

‘Just . . . because . . .’

‘So the youngest brother gets to sit in the front every time and there’s never any arguments between them? Because that doesn’t sound like how eleven- and thirteen-year-old boys might act to me.’

Sharon weighed up Jessica’s words, knowing she didn’t have an answer. She replied in the way Jessica expected her to. ‘Out. I want you to leave. I know my rights, you can’t be in here without a warrant unless I invite you in. I’m uninviting you. I want you out. Now.’

The woman put a hand on the top of Jessica’s arm and motioned as if to pull her out of the seat. Jessica stood voluntarily but held firm.

‘Are you really sure you want to do this?’ she asked.

Sharon continued to pull on Jessica’s arm but with less force. ‘Do what? Leave now.’

Jessica sighed. ‘It’s not just about the seat. We know you don’t have any other children or grandchildren. We know you don’t have any other properties or anything else in your name. And we know – I know – you have Lloyd somewhere here. We can either do this the easy way and you tell me where you have him, or I can go outside and tell my colleagues at the bottom of the road to come along with the warrant we already have. We can do it whichever way you choose but it’s up to you. One way will look a lot worse when it gets to court.’

Sharon stopped tugging on Jessica’s arm. Her head was tilted to the side and she met the sergeant’s eyes. ‘Fine. Have a look for yourself. He’s not here.’

As her son had done days before, she held her arms wide to tell Jessica she had nothing to hide.

For the first time since the previous night, Jessica felt a nervous twinge. She had been in control of the conversation until that point but Sharon’s steady stare suddenly put doubt into her mind. What if she was wrong? Was there something she had missed? Jessica tried to appear confident as she walked through from the kitchen into the living room with Sharon just behind her. The atmosphere had certainly changed and she could feel the woman hovering. Jessica didn’t have to do much exploration in the room to know there was no one there, not unless there was a hidden basement under the carpet. The rest of the ground floor was similarly inauspicious, everything tidily organised and offering nothing of interest. Sharon followed her around but said nothing.

Jessica knew she could ask the team waiting outside to enter at any moment. She wasn’t bluffing when she told the woman they had a warrant. But if she was wrong, it would look terrible for everyone involved, especially her. Jessica walked steadily up the carpeted stairs studying the photos on the walls above a bookshelf which had been built into the wall. The books were largely romance novels and even from skimming the spines, Jessica could see they were in alphabetical order.

At the top of the stairs was a door immediately on her left, another in front and two to her right. Sharon was hovering halfway up, watching. Jessica entered to her left but it was a bathroom, while the door in front led into a library of sorts, with hundreds, if not thousands of books arranged neatly along the walls. She tried to weigh up the dimensions of the house, wondering if there could be space for an extra room or large cupboard but everything appeared correct.

The first of the doors to her right opened into a bedroom that Jessica thought was likely Sharon’s own. There was a king-size bed neatly made with a clean white duvet on top. Jessica almost felt embarrassed for doing it but she crouched and looked under the bed but could see nothing. She checked the walk-in wardrobe but, aside from a dubious taste in clothes, there was nothing untoward. Jessica was beginning to get a sinking feeling in her stomach as she approached the final door. It was wedged open and without going inside, she could see that it was relatively clear. A single bed was pushed towards a back wall, a portable television was on a chest of drawers opposite. There was a cream-coloured carpet that Jessica felt strangely drawn to because of how bright it made the room look. The day was clear but cold and sunlight beamed through the window, illuminating the area. Jessica looked from the doorway, peering from one corner to the other, but couldn’t see anything out of place.

As she turned to look away, defeated, Jessica’s gaze fell upon an object on the floor holding the door open. It was a solid-looking dark weight, the type she’d used at school when they were learning about measurements. In her mind, Jessica was transported back to being young, holding the weights in her hand and thinking how heavy they were before balancing them on the scales as her teacher spoke about kilograms and pounds. She had half-turned towards the stairs but stopped to stare at the weight. Something about it didn’t seem quite right. The rest of the house was completely uncluttered with all the doors closed. For some reason, not only was this door open but there was an item on the floor.