‘Please say you’re not so drunk that you won’t remember any of this,’ Joe said. ‘I don’t think I could go through it twice.’

‘I’m not that drunk,’ she said, sipping her coffee and ignoring the throbbing at her temples.

Joe didn’t look convinced. ‘I’ll leave you in peace for now,’ he said, ‘but I hope we can catch up again.’

‘We’ll have to.’ Leanne stood up and took a spare set of keys off the hook in the galley. ‘You’ll need to borrow these to get back through the gates.’

It was like old times when Joe had visited, but not quite.

‘Don’t forget to leave some water and paracetamol by your bed,’ he instructed.

It was something Lois would have said if she had been there, and Leanne could feel pressure behind her nose as tears threatened again. ‘I won’t.’

Joe poured away the rest of his coffee in the kitchen sink and was about to turn away when he noticed the drawing of a torch stuck on the fridge door. Amelia had written her name on the bottom. ‘I read about what Claudia Rothwell did.’

‘Yeah, well, there might be more to that story if I can figure it all out. I’ll explain it to you some time.’ Leanne was feeling woozy and tired. She was eager for her bed, but there was something about the way Joe kept looking at the drawing. ‘I don’t suppose you remember seeing Claudia or Amelia, do you?’

‘No, but I recognise that torch. I had one.’

Leanne straightened up. ‘You did?’

Joe was bemused by her reaction. ‘I suspect half the town had one at some point. Ronson Construction were giving them away like sweets during the open day for the restoration project.’

‘I think I was in Ibiza at the time, with Lois,’ Leanne said distractedly. It was years ago, before Lois had met Joe. ‘Do you still have it?’

‘I found it in a drawer after the fire and when I saw the logo and realised what it was, I chucked it in the bin. To be honest I don’t think it ever worked. It was cheap tat.’

The comment stayed with Leanne long after Joe had left. If it was cheap tat, why on earth would Claudia carry one around? The answer was obvious. She wouldn’t. If ever Leanne’s judgement had been clouded, it wasn’t now.

19