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hearing is unimpaired, and she listens to everything that's said to her; however, she is selective about which instructions she chooses to obey. As a simple example, she is happy to point to a blue cube when asked, but refuses to pick it up.
    While she is unable or unwilling to use words to communicate, she resorts very quickly to screams and tantrums when her wishes are thwarted or when she feels herself stressed. This is particularly evident when strangers enter the room or when voices rise above a monotone. She invariably refuses any sort of physical contact on a first meeting but holds out her arms to be picked up on a second.This would indicate good recognition skills, yet she evinces a strong fear of men and screams in terror whenever they intrude into her space. In the absence of any indication of physical or sexual abuse, this fear may stem from: unfamiliarity with men as a result of being raised in a sheltered, all-female environment; witnessing male aggression against another-e.g. mother or sibling.
    Conclusions: In view of the child's backward development and apparent stress-related disorders, she should not be returned to her family/guardians without exhaustive inquiries being made about the nature of the household. It is also imperative that she be placed on the "at risk" register to allow continuous monitoring of her future welfare. I am seriously concerned about the traces of benzodiazepine and paracetamol in her bloodstream. Benzodiazepine (a strong hypnotic) is not recommended for children, and certainly not in conjunction with paracetamol. I suspect the child was sedated but can think of no legitimate reason why this should have been necessary.
    N.B. Without knowing more of the child's history, it is difficult to say whether her behavior is due to: (1) autism; (2) psychiatric trauma; (3) taught dependence, which, while leaving her ignorant of her own capabilities, has encouraged her to be consciously manipulative.
    Dr. Janet Murray

 
    *5*

    It bad been a long twenty-four hours, and WPC Sandra Griffiths was yawning as her telephone started to ring again at noon on Monday. She had done several local radio and television interviews to publicize the abandonment of Lily (named after Lilliput, where she was found), but although the response to the programs had been good, not one caller had been able to tell her who the child was. She blamed the weather. Too many people were out in the sunshine; too few watching their sets. She stifled the yawn as she picked up the receiver.
    The man at the other end sounded worried. "I'm sorry to bother you," he told her, "but I've just had my mother on the phone. She's incredibly het-up about some toddler who looks like my daughter wandering the streets. I've told her it can't possibly be Hannah, but"-he paused-"well, the thing is we've both tried phoning my wife, and neither of us can get an answer."
    Griffiths tucked the receiver under her chin and reached for a pen. This was the twenty-fifth father to phone since the toddler's photograph had been broadcast, and all were estranged from their wives and children. She had no higher hopes of this one than she'd had of the previous twenty-four, but she went through the motions willingly enough. "If you'll answer one or two questions for me, sir, we can establish very quickly whether the little girl is Hannah. May I have your name and address?" "William Sumner, Langton Cottage, Rope Walk, Lymington, Hampshire."
    "And do your wife and daughter still live with you, Mr. Sumner?"
    "Yes."
    Her interest sharpened immediately. "When did you last see them?"
    "Four days ago. I'm at a pharmaceutical conference in Liverpool. I spoke to Kate-that's my wife-on Friday night and everything was fine, but my mother's positive this toddler's Hannah. It doesn't make sense though. Mum says she was found in Poole yesterday, but how could Hannah be wandering around Poole on her own when we live in Lymington?"
    Griffiths listened to the rising alarm in