Mel sat at the table, opposite the police officers, sensing a distinct change in their manner. The inspector didn’t look quite so friendly and sympathetic. Neither did the sergeant, although, to be honest, she hadn’t been that friendly to begin with. Mel’s heart squeezed in her chest and she could almost feel it struggling to pump the blood round her body, making her feel light-headed. She clung on to her chair, worried that she might faint.

‘We’ve got a bit of a puzzle on our hands here,’ Stevens said. ‘And we’re going to need a bit more clarity on a few points if we’re going to sort it out.’

Mel nodded and ran her tongue round dry lips.

‘You see, the bus drivers do the same routes all the time. They know the regulars and notice new people. And the driver on the route that goes through Hawkshead swears that your husband and children got on the bus on Friday, and he hasn’t seen them since. He didn’t bring them back that day or Saturday. And neither did the other driver who covers the route on a Sunday. So, can you tell us again when he last contacted you?’

Mel couldn’t think, his words filling her mind. ‘Friday? No, they can’t have been missing since Friday.’

‘But when did you last hear from him?’ Lockett stared at her and Mel looked down at her hands, words stuck in her head as if glued there.

‘Do you want to check your phone?’ Stevens asked.

Mel felt hot now, uncomfortable under their gaze.

‘I don’t need to check. It was Friday. I think I told you that before. That’s when he sent me a message to say they’d arrived safely.’

She twiddled her wedding ring round her finger.

‘And you haven’t heard anything since?’ The inspector’s voice was neutral, but there was a challenge in the question. They obviously thought she was lying and her cheeks burned.

When she finally spoke, her voice sounded shrill, defensive. ‘I told you, we had an agreement when I was working that we didn’t contact each other unless there was an emergency.’

Mel looked up to see two pairs of eyes studying her.

‘Anyway, I thought…’ She sighed. ‘I thought he was still cross with me. I thought that was why he wasn’t replying to my messages.’

‘And why would you think that?’ Lockett asked. ‘You’d had an argument?’

Mel sighed again. ‘Look. The thing is… my husband, he’s not… he’s not well. He’s been having a few problems and…’ She stopped, trying to work out how to phrase it. In the last six months, things between them had become… difficult. She thought back to a night that changed everything and a situation she should have handled differently. More carefully.

‘Daddy, can I come into bed?’ Callum’s voice was shaky, punctuated with little sobs.

‘Hey, course you can, son.’ Luke’s voice was a sleepy murmur as he took his arm from around Mel’s waist and shuffled her over the bed a bit to make more space. ‘Hop in.’

A draught wafted over her back as he lifted the covers. Her lips pursed and her body tensed as Luke turned his back on her so he could cuddle his son, leaving Mel hanging on to the edge of the bed.

‘Another nightmare, was it?’

‘I thought you’d left me, Dad. I was all on my own in this dark place and something was chasing me and you weren’t there.’

‘Just a nightmare, son.’ Luke’s voice was soft and warm. ‘Nothing to worry about. I’m here.’

‘I’ve got that meeting in the morning,’ Mel said, jaw clenched. It was a pitch for her first major customer, her big break, the thing she’d worked five years to achieve. ‘I’ve got to be up at half five. New client, remember?’

‘Oh, yeah,’ Luke mumbled, already drifting back into sleep.

‘Daddy?’ Callum’s voice was a stage whisper.

‘Yeah?’

‘Can we go fishing tomorrow?’

‘Fishing?’

Mel’s hands curled into fists under the pillow, her teeth grinding.

‘The river by Pops’. I saw a great big fish in there on Saturday.’

‘Did you?’

‘It was this big.’

Mel elbowed Luke in the kidneys. ‘Shift up, will you, I’m falling out here.’

‘I can’t shift up.’

‘Well, can Callum shift up?’

‘He’s on the edge.’

‘Well, it’s not going to work then, is it?’

‘Course it will. You’re okay, aren’t you, Cal?’

She didn’t hear him respond. Maybe he nodded. Wide awake now, tension bunched her shoulders as she looked at the digital display of the alarm clock: 2.53. 2.54. 2.55. She took a deep, calming breath and her eyes started to close.

‘Can we, Dad?’ Her eyes flicked open. Luke shifted, nudging her further towards the edge, and she could feel herself slipping.

‘For Christ’s sake!’ Mel jumped out of bed. ‘Please, I need to sleep!’ She lowered her voice, spread out the words so the meaning was absolutely clear. ‘I’ve got a really important meeting tomorrow.’ Her nails dug into her palms, frustration coiling insider her like a spring as the pressure built. ‘I do not want to hear about fucking fish!’ That came out louder than she’d intended and sounded harsh, making her instantly regret her outburst. The bedclothes rustled, feet thumped on the floor, accompanied by the sound of snuffling sobs as Callum ran from the room.

‘Did you have to?’ Luke snapped. He put on the bedside light and she squinted in the sudden brightness. He glared at her, his eyes narrowed in an angry frown.

‘I’ve got a—’

‘I know what you’ve got,’ he said, clearly annoyed, as he got out of bed. ‘But we’ve got a son and he’s more important than any frigging meeting.’ She watched him march out of the bedroom and winced as he slammed the door behind him, a hollow feeling swelling inside her.

He hadn’t come back to bed and, after a little while, she had gone to find him, wanting to put things right between them all.

Looking back now, that had been a mistake. It would have been better to let things cool down. But instead, things had been said and done, the memories of which still festered underneath the skin of their relationship like a boil.

‘He can flare up,’ she said now, aware of the police officers watching her. ‘He has these little trigger points.’ She chewed at her lip, wondering if she was making sense. ‘He’s easily stressed and it was all a bit of a rush getting ready for the holiday.’

‘So, what do you think has happened?’ Lockett asked.

Mel sighed again, not really wanting to air their problems in public. But she had to now, didn’t she? If she wanted them to be found. She opened her mouth to speak, then stopped herself as she tried to find the right words, but there was nothing in her mind to soften what she had to say, nothing to make it easier. She blurted it out, her fingers bunching her joggers in her lap.

‘I’ve got to be honest with you. The fact is, things haven’t been easy. This holiday was a “start again” sort of thing. We were putting it all behind us and he was making a real effort.’ She looked at them and nodded as if to reassure herself. ‘He was.’ Her eyes shone and a tear tracked down her cheek. She wiped it away with the back of her hand and took a deep breath. ‘He’s not been well. He was in the forces, you see; did I say that?’ Stevens nodded and Mel stared at him, not wanting to put her worst fears into words, but she had to try, had to make herself face up to the truth of the situation. ‘He gets these… these depressions and I just hope…’ She covered her face with her hands. ‘I hope he hasn’t done anything to himself and the children.’

Now that she’d said it, it seemed the only feasible option. If they hadn’t been found by now, with all the people searching, had he hidden himself away and done what he’d threatened to do?

Lockett pushed back her chair, walked over to Mel and put an arm around her as the tears streamed down Mel’s face. ‘I just pray he hasn’t hurt them. Please find them. Find my kids. Please.’

‘Don’t you worry, Mrs Roberts,’ the inspector said. ‘There’s lots of lines of enquiry for us to follow. Let’s not think the worst just yet.’

Lockett rubbed Mel’s shoulder; an empty reassurance, Mel thought, just like the inspector’s words.