Necessary as Blood

asked.
    ‘Yes. She‘s not quite three. Naz was supposed to come for a visit, and we were going to let the girls play. But that was hours ago, and he never showed up at our house, or came home, and he‘s not answering his phone. Look, let‘s go down to the kitchen. You should talk to Alia.‘
    He led them to the back of the staircase, where a much less ornate flight led down into an open-plan dining,‘kitchen area that stretched the length of the house.
    Light from the well at the front fell on a sofa slipcovered in a cheerful dahlia print, and at the back, French doors opened onto a small garden. Cupboards and a large dresser lined the walls, and a trestle table stood in front of an enormous fireplace.
    The air smelled of Indian spices, and a young Asian woman sat at the table, trying to coax a child to eat. The young woman was slightly plump, with straight black hair pulled back into a haphazard ponytail. When she looked up at them, her eyes were red-rimmed behind the lenses of her dark-framed glasses.
    But the child... Gemma stared at the little girl, transfixed. Her light-brown hair formed a mass of corkscrew curls almost as tight as dreadlocks. Her skin was the palest café au lait, and when she glanced up, Gemma saw that her eyes were an unexpected blue-green. She wore little Velcro-fastened trainers, and a dirt-smudged overall over a pink T-shirt. The ordinary clothes seemed only to emphasize her unusual beauty.
    At the moment, however, she was turning her head away from the offered fork, and the young woman looked at Tim in appeal. ‘I made samosas,‘ she said. A treat for Mr Naz and Charlotte. My mum is always telling me I need to learn how to cook so that I can get a man, which is really stupid.‘ She shrugged. ‘It‘s a Bangladeshi thing. But I don‘t mind cooking for them! Her nod included Charlotte and, Gemma assumed, the absent Mr Naz. ‘Come on, Char,‘ she wheedled, pulling the child into her lap. ‘Just a bite.‘ The child shook her head, lips clamped firmly shut, but leaned back against the young woman‘s chest.
    ‘Your daddy will be home soon, and he‘ll be cross if you haven‘t had your tea.‘ The young woman‘s attempted sternness ended on an uncertain quaver, and Tim stepped in.
    ‘Alia, this is my wi—‘ Tim regrouped in mid-word. ‘This is Dr Cavendish.‘ He gestured towards Hazel, then Gemma. ‘And this is Gemma James. Gemma‘s with the police, and I thought she might—‘
    ‘Police?‘ Alia‘s eyes widened in alarm. ‘I don‘t want - I didn‘t mean to get Mr Naz into any sort of trouble.‘
    ‘I‘m just here as a friend, Alia,‘ Gemma said quickly. ‘To see if I can help.‘ She slipped into the chair beside Alia‘s at the table. ‘Why don‘t you tell me about your day.‘
    ‘My day?‘ From Alia‘s expression, Gemma might have asked her the square root of pi.
    ‘Yes.‘ Gemma smiled, trying to put the girl at ease. She gave Hazel and Tim a glance that they interpreted correctly, taking seats at either end of the sofa. Timing back to Alia, Gemma asked, ‘Do you usually look after Charlotte on a Saturday?‘
    ‘No. Mr Naz likes to spend as much time with her as he can at the weekend. But he rang this morning and asked if I could come in for a couple of hours. I thought he had to go to the office, but when he left he didn‘t have any papers or nothing. Mr Naz is a solicitor. But then Dr Cavendish will have told you,‘ she added uncertainly.
    ‘And Mr Naz didn‘t say where he was going?‘
    ‘No. Just that he‘d be back in time to take Charlotte with him to visit Dr Cavendish.‘ She looked from Tim to Hazel, obviously confused by the two Dr Cavendishes, but this wasn‘t the moment to enlighten her.
    ‘Was there anything else different in what he said, or how be looked?‘ Gemma asked.
    Alia‘s broad brow creased as she thought. ‘He only gave Charlotte a kiss. Usually he picks her up and swings her round.‘ At the sound of her name, Charlotte put her thumb in her mouth.
    Perhaps he had been distracted, Gemma thought, but she went on matter-of-factly. ‘Then what did you and Charlotte do? Did you go out?‘ She smiled at the child, but got no response.
    ‘Just in the garden.‘ Alia glanced at the back doors. ‘Charlotte has a sandpit, and it was nice outside. Then Mr Naz had got mangoes, so we made a lassi in the blender. Mr Naz had said he‘d be back by three, so I had everything tidied up by then. But he didn‘t come