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which the child grabbed, dragging Knox’s whole hand up towards its mouth.
    ‘How old is she?’ Knox asked. So it was a girl. Mariner was impressed that Tony Knox could identify the gender so quickly, given that she was wearing neither giveaway pink nor blue. The huge dark eyes that gazed solemnly at them from a pale face could have belonged to either.
    ‘She’s about three months I think,’ Kam told him, using her free hand to nudge her glasses again. ‘Though she’s quite small for her age.’
    ‘It’s a long day for her.’ Knox gave voice to Mariner’s thoughts.
    Kam rolled her eyes. ‘Tell me about it. She hasn’t been too thrilled, either. I think she’s teething because her tummy’s been upset all day. I’ve lost count of the number of times we’ve had to change her. She’ll be glad to see her mummy again.’ Talking about the baby seemed to relax Kam a little, though Mariner sensed she was glad to have the distraction of the child.
    While they’d been focusing on the baby, Samantha had grouped some child-sized plastic chairs into a semi-circle, which Leanne, a large and lumbering girl, with freckles and red hair, came and perched on, leaving Mariner and Knox no other option than to fold their legs and do the same. Samantha took the more comfortable option of a low table just behind them. To Mariner’s right Leanne worried at a hangnail, and was unwilling to meet his eye. Kam remained standing, gently swaying, the child propped on her hip.
    ‘How many children have there been in here today?’ Mariner began.
    ‘Six altogether; three babies, two toddlers and a preschooler. ’ Though he’d addressed Leanne it was Kam who spoke up from where she stood. ‘Four this afternoon after Christie took Samuel up to the preschool room, to play with the older ones.’
    ‘And she was out of the room from what time?’
    Leanne abandoned her hangnail and looked up. ‘About half past one.’
    ‘Leaving the two of you alone in the room, with the children. ’
    ‘It leaves us well within ratio.’ Though it meant nothing to Mariner, Samantha’s tone was defensive and the unease seemed to infiltrate the other girls too. These were nothing more than frightened kids, not so very different from the young women they’d been interviewing all day for Ocean Blue. ‘And then what?’ he asked.
    Again it was Kam who answered his question. Mariner tried to read the look in her eyes.
    ‘It was an ordinary afternoon. The babies had a sleep after lunch and woke up gradually. We put out toys for them to play with. Mr Singh collected Rajid at about two o’clock.’
    ‘And Mr Singh—?’
    ‘—definitely took his child,’ Samantha intervened. ‘I was in the office when they left the building, and he’s one of the few parents who has used the crèche before. I know him. And well, it was obvious, wasn’t it?’
    ‘And then?’
    The girls exchanged a nervous glance. Finally Leanne chipped in. ‘It’s been mad. A couple of the children have had loose nappies. We’ve been in and out of the bathroom all afternoon.’
    ‘You have to take them in the bathroom to adjust their nappies?’
    ‘I think she means the contents, boss,’ said Knox, the experienced family man, looking up from his pocketbook. Since he’d ceased entertaining the baby girl he’d been scribbling as the girls talked.
    ‘Oh.’ That was an image Mariner didn’t care to linger on. ‘And all this was going on when the woman came in for Jessica?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘So who was in here at the time?’
    ‘Just me,’ said Leanne and suddenly all eyes were on her. She shrugged casually. ‘I thought she was Jessica’s mummy.’

Chapter Three
    Looking up, Leanne glared defensively at Kam. ‘You were in the bathroom changing Connor and I was trying to comfort Ellie. Like you said, she’s been crying all day. This woman came in and sort of smiled and went straight over to Jessica, so I thought—’
    ‘So this woman definitely took Jessica?’