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And now I have to go, get some more beauty sleep before the new day starts. Take care, darling!’
    The line went dead. Phillip stared at his phone. Well, Jennifer was okay, so much was clear. In fact she had sounded a lot brighter than most people would so early in the morning. And maybe it
was
better if it was just him and Gran for a bit. The doctor had scheduled her in for radiotherapy, and if this worked he could go back to England in a couple of weeks and persuade Jennifer to come here for a while.
    He showered and lay down on his bed, thinking sad, idle thoughts and listening to the sounds of Winchester Beach settling down for the night. Thank God Thea was there in England for Jennifer. Now he could be here in the States for Gran with a clear conscience.
    If only someone had been there for Hailey.

Chapter Seven
    She would have said they had a good marriage. They talked to each other, and they made a point of having a ‘date night’ every few weeks. They went away together for short breaks, leaving Joe and Livvy with the grandparents. Everyone thought they were rock solid.
    But apparently they weren’t. Colin was sitting on the arm of her chair in the police station, his hand on her shoulder, but he wasn’t looking at her and he wasn’t talking to her and if there hadn’t been a policewoman in with them he might not have sat down anywhere near her. But for the moment his presence alone was almost enough for her. Almost.
    They’d brought her to this larger, more comfortable room after she’d been sick on the interview room floor, and for the first time since Olivia had gone missing, Maggie had shed quiet, helpless tears. The police doctor came and gave her two pills to swallow with the tea that arrived with him. She could hardly hold the mug, her hands were trembling so much, and she was so cold, her feet were freezing. The shaking subsided as the pills took effect, and Maggie felt her body relax. Everything was going fuzzy round the edges. It was comforting, if anything could be comforting today. When Howard arrived with Colin she was able to speak again.
    ‘Where’s Joe?’
    ‘At your cottage playing with Amanda,’ said Howard. ‘They interviewed him. He said he noticed Olivia, probably after she’d been dancing round her sandcastle. She was looking at something in the sand. But then he turned back to the pools and he didn’t see her again.’
    Maggie shivered. Livvy must have been on her way to the pools - or the cliff path. Minutes passed. The police had left them alone. Colin didn’t say anything more and neither did she at first. There was nothing to say. But she had to explain why she’d been so sick. Maggie blew her nose.
    ‘I - I thought they thought I’d harmed her,’ she said. ‘And maybe they did and they were right, weren’t they? It was all my fault, I didn’t look after her properly.’
    ‘Let’s just wait for now,’ said Colin. ‘Just believe they’ll find her safe.’
    Maggie clasped cold hands as if she were praying, though she really couldn’t remember the last time she’d prayed. She knew she couldn’t even hope any longer that Livvy was safe. The harrowing thoughts that were banging around in her head were hers alone. She couldn’t share them with Colin. If he still had hope, she couldn’t take it from him. She would be condemning him to the same hell she was in herself.
    Howard came back in. ‘The search groups have reported back,’ he said. ‘There’s nothing yet, even the dogs haven’t picked up a scent more than a few feet from your cottage.’
    He looked at them with his sad eyes and went on gently. ‘I’m sorry this was such an ordeal for you, Mrs Granger. Your statements are ready to sign, and there’s a car waiting to take you both home. I’ll be round first thing.’
    Back at Cove Cottage, Joe and Amanda were playing Memory. Joe ran to Maggie, and she held him close, feeling his sturdy little body warm against her own.
    ‘Mummy, where’s