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The only message Shelley left was a broken window. Baby equipment and other items were missing but Jason couldn’t see any point in reporting the burglary to the police. There was no proof that it had been Shelley and they would be wasting valuable searching time by trying to persuade the authorities to become involved.

Jason and Laura spent the whole of the day visiting the motels in person, trying to persuade people how important it was that they find Megan.

‘She’s got a medical condition,’ Laura invented desperately in the end. ‘And her mother hasn’t got the medication she needs.’

‘Try the police, then. It’s none of our business. How do we know you’ve got any right to be tracking her down, anyway?’

‘We could hire a private detective,’ Laura suggested late that afternoon. ‘They might be better at this than we are.’

‘What could they do that we’re not doing?’

‘I don’t know. They might have contacts to track things like credit-card use.’

‘She won’t need a card for a while,’ Jason said. ‘She cleaned out my wallet when she broke into the house and I had the rent money for a month in there.’

‘She’ll be in touch.’ Laura was trying to reassure herself as much as Jason. ‘As Stick pointed out, it’s you she wants. She’s just trying to show you that she’s capable of taking Megan away. She’s betting that you’ll be missing her enough to agree to anything to get her back.’

‘I am missing her. Crazy, isn’t it?’ Jason pulled Laura into his arms and held her tightly. ‘I know you’re worried about her just as much as I am but don’t worry. We’ll get her back… somehow.’

‘Are you coming into work tonight?’

‘May as well,’ Jason said grimly. ‘We’re not getting anywhere like this so we’re going to have to wait for her to contact us. Waiting for that will be a lot easier at work than sitting at home by myself.’

It was a busy night for both the fire and ambulance crews. Laura hardly saw Jason and when they were diverted from returning to station after a job that finished at 6 a.m. she groaned aloud.

‘No sleep all night and now a job that will probably make us late and I really wanted to see Jason.’

‘Must be tough for you guys at the moment,’ Tim said sympathetically. ‘Have you got the details for this priority-one through on your pager yet?’

‘No. I don’t even know what suburb we’re supposed to be heading for.’ Laura picked up the radio handpiece. ‘Inglewood Three Zero to Control.’

‘Must be busy.’ Tim noted the length of time taken to respond. ‘We’ll just keep cruising for a minute.’

‘Towards the station,’ Laura suggested with a smile. ‘That way, if we’re too far away from the action they’ll have to send someone else.’

‘Yeah.’ Tim returned the smile but it faded quickly. ‘This business with Megan isn’t great for you, is it?’

‘You could say that.’

‘It’s funny, but I never thought Jason would be so cut up. He gave the impression that the sooner the mum came back to collect, the better.’

‘Things changed,’ Laura sighed. ‘He fell in love with his baby.’

‘And with you?’ Tim suggested softly.

‘With the whole package,’ Laura corrected. ‘He doesn’t want to lose the family he was given.’

‘I can understand that,’ Tim said. ‘And I can under⁠—’

Whatever else Tim understood was never made clear. The radio crackled into life abruptly.

‘Inglewood Three Zero. Priority-one callout. Standby for house fire. Fire service in attendance.’

Maybe Laura would get to see Jason after all. She pushed the button on the side of her microphone.

‘Roger that, Control. What address?’

Tim had the beacons going. He caught Laura’s eye, waiting for the street name. There was no point in picking up speed until they knew they were heading in the right direction.