Wednesday, 24 July

Alix collects Eliza and Leon from school while other parents quietly express concern. Alix remains outwardly composed but is frightened and exhausted because the police investigation has produced no sightings of Nathan, Josie, Katelyn, or the hire car, despite extensive inquiries into Erin Fair’s card use, local CCTV, bus passengers, Brooke Ripley’s contacts, Walter’s family, and Josie’s workplace.

DC Sabrina Albright calls Alix and asks her to come to the station to identify objects found in the Fairs’ property. Alix arranges childcare and examines a table of items, including personal things stolen from her home: a Nespresso pod, hand soap, Nathan’s bracelet for her, a supermarket receipt from her birthday, an interiors magazine, a teaspoon, Eliza’s card about Teeny, and passport photos of Leon.

Alix also sees unfamiliar items that appear to belong to someone else, including a photograph of a young girl with two small children, a pink scrunchie, a decorated phone case, a Hubba Bubba container, a crucifix earring, a lipstick-smudged napkin, and a silk wrist corsage. Alix recognizes the girl in the photograph as Brooke Ripley and connects the corsage to a prom-night photo of Brooke, suggesting Josie may have kept items linked to Brooke as well as items stolen from Alix.

Alix then remembers the blood-smeared key Josie left under the mattress in Alix’s spare room and tells DC Albright about it, describing its small brass or gold shape and numbered tag. DC Albright says the information may be important and that the police will intensify efforts to find Brooke’s family. Before leaving, Alix asks whether a necklace with a golden bumblebee pendant was found, but DC Albright says it was not.

Back at home, Alix tells her mother only that the police have no real news and that Josie had stolen small, personal items from her house. Alix withholds the details about Brooke, the corsage, and the bloody key, then takes comfort from her mother’s insistence that Nathan will come home by the weekend. Alix imagines Nathan returning alive, injured but safe, and hopes they can eventually face his involvement with Katelyn and repair their marriage.

In a later segment from Hi! I’m Your Birthday Twin!, Katelyn Rand explains that Josie paid her to keep Nathan out after his friends left, take him to a hotel room booked in his name, and make him believe Alix was coming. Nathan repeatedly asked for Alix, tried to leave, and accidentally scratched Katelyn during a struggle; when Josie finally called around 3 a.m., Katelyn sent Nathan outside to a black Kia by claiming Alix was waiting there, staged the hotel room to look sexual, received £1,000, and later realized the situation was far more serious than she had understood.