And I said one thing to my son in those nine minutes, with my hand on his knee, in a voice I was trying very hard to keep flat.

I said: “Whatever this is, you tell them the truth.”

Which is what mothers say.

And which, in that specific sequence of circumstances, was the second-worst piece of advice I have ever given him.

Part Twenty-One: Oak Street

We came round the corner onto Oak Street and there were three vehicles outside the Lin house.

The patrol car we were in.

A second marked car.