The temperature had dropped low enough to turn Leanne’s breath to vapour as she waited for the door to be answered. Each time she inhaled, she was painfully aware of how effortless it was to draw the cold air into her lungs. On average, a person takes twenty-five thousand breaths per day – reflexively, without effort, or thought. You took it for granted. Until you didn’t.

With the next exhale, a cloud curled around Leanne’s face. It could easily be mistaken for smoke. Fighting the urge to hammer on the door and beg to be let in, she saw a light flicker inside the house. A figure appeared in silhouette and the door opened.

‘Come in, you look frozen,’ Kathryn Parker said, offering a smile.

Grateful to use the cold weather as an excuse, Leanne made no attempt to disguise her dithering.

‘They’re saying we could be in for record lows this winter,’ said Kathryn, taking the coat Leanne was reluctant to peel off.

‘And it’s going to snow at Christmas,’ said Amelia confidently. She had appeared in the hallway with a clutch of Sharpies in one hand and a piece of paper in the other.

‘Have you been drawing again?’ asked Leanne.

When the girl turned the sheet of paper around, Leanne scanned it hungrily for what might be another of Amelia’s clues. There was a Christmas tree in the centre of the page and a smattering of figures sporting elf hats. It was a happy family scene; no flames, no fire, no dead bodies littering the ground. Leanne forced a smile. ‘That’s lovely.’

‘Let’s go through to the living room,’ suggested Kathryn. ‘I can make you a hot drink if you like?’

‘I’m fine, thanks.’

‘So how can we help?’ Kathryn asked. ‘I wasn’t sure if the Courier would be doing any more interviews. We’ve stopped getting calls from all the other reporters and researchers. It’s a real shame, Amelia would have liked to have met Holly Willoughby.’

‘You were going to be on This Morning?’

‘Only if Claudia came with us,’ Amelia said, her lip protruding. ‘But she said no.’

‘Have you seen her since the anniversary?’

‘Not a word,’ Kathryn said, lowering her voice. Amelia had sprawled out on the rug in front of them and was absorbed in a new drawing. ‘It’s been disappointing for Amelia, but I completely understand. I’ll never forget what Claudia sacrificed for us.’

‘And how is Amelia doing?’ Leanne asked, matching Kathryn’s whisper.

‘She’s much better, thanks.’

‘Has she had any more flashbacks?’

Kathryn’s brow creased. ‘It’s hard to say. Her counsellor has been encouraging her to draw as a way of visualising her fears.’ She closed her eyes. ‘Some of them are quite disturbing.’

‘Would you like to see them?’ Amelia asked. She had been listening after all, and abandoned her work in progress; the outline of a woman.