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One of the caregivers appeared beside her, holding a stack of plastic plates.

“I’ve been forgotten already,” Katie said.

The caregiver gave her a wry smile.

“It’s better than the alternative, believe me.”

Katie raised her eyebrows. “This is very true.”

She was relieved by how easy her daughter found it to settle. Regardless of what she was faced with, Siena always had such confidence. It was reassuring on one level; the fact she felt so protected reflected well on Sam and her, and it was good she was secure enough to love life so carelessly. At the same time, it unnerved Katie. In an ideal world, a childshouldbe able to be like that, of course, but she knew this world was not always a safe and happy one. That all it took was one mistake. One crossed path you never saw coming.

She started to leave, but then the caregiver called to her.

“Oh, Ms. Shaw? I almost forgot.”

“Yes?”

The worker took a step closer to her, lowering her voice slightly.

“Just as a follow-up to what happened yesterday,” she said. “We’ve heard back from the police. There’s nothing much they can do right now, but they’re going to have an officer drive past every so often for the next few days.”

Katie stared at her. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m not following.”

“I told your husband when he picked up Siena yesterday.”

“He didn’t mention anything.”

The caregiver looked a little surprised. “Oh—about the car?”

“What do you mean?” Katie said. “What car?”

The worker gestured to a side door, which opened onto a small garden gated off from the street.

“Some of the children were playing outside after lunch,” she said. “A couple of them told staff there was a man parked up in a car, and they thought he might be watching them. When we went over to check, there was nobody there.”

“Was Siena one of them?”

“I’m not sure. A few of them were out there. But—”

“What color was the car?”

The caregiver started to reply, but the sudden urgency in Katie’s voice had startled her. She looked at her a little strangely.

Katie thought quickly. “Just so I can keep my eye out, I mean.”

“Oh, I see.” The woman relaxed a little. “No, the kids couldn’t give them a description at all. Not of the car or the driver. That was the main reason the police said there wasn’t anything they could do beyond send an officer out every now and then.”

“Right.”

“It’s probably nothing,” she said. “You know what imaginations they all have at this age. And the safety of your children is our number one priority. You have nothing to worry about.”

Katie looked across at Siena, still sitting on the floor and talking happily to the little girl beside her. Guileless and innocent.

Safe.

You have nothing to worry about.

“Yes,” Katie said.