‘My God, you were the one who broke the news. Are you saying you made it up?’ Beth replied with a laugh that was meant to mock. It worked.

‘Claudia lied. In fact she’s lied about a lot of things. When you saw her by the exit, she wasn’t going back inside, she hadn’t been in there to begin with. She had tickets, but she gave them away.’ Leanne left a beat before adding, ‘Did you know she was having an affair with Declan?’

Beth’s jaw dropped and then she laughed again. ‘More stories? You’re getting good at this. I read that rubbish you printed about the wonderful Phillipa Montgomery. Is that what this is about? Are you trying to frame Claudia so we’ll forget it was Phillipa who was involved with Declan?’

‘And where did the rumour about Phillipa come from? Was it Claudia?’ When Beth didn’t answer, Leanne added, ‘When I said Claudia gave away her tickets, who do you think used them?’

Beth gave nothing away. ‘Should I care?’

‘You and Karin were in her seats,’ Leanne said slowly. ‘According to Claudia there was a mix-up at the box office. Surely you remember the confusion over tickets?’

‘It sounds like you’re the one who’s muddled. We had the right tickets. We were meant to be mystery shoppers.’

‘No, Beth, that was Claudia’s job. I have a list of all the complimentary tickets that were issued and none went to Declan. He acquired Claudia’s tickets – a man she claims not to have known.’

‘This is ridiculous. Declan’s dead. Can’t you let him rest in peace?’

‘I know I’m as guilty as anyone for believing he was the villain, and I understand why you don’t want Karin talking to me, but I promise you, that’s not what this is about. I want justice for the people who died in the fire, as well as those who continue to suffer,’ she added softly, wanting Beth to know that she saw her suffering too. ‘I think Claudia is using Amelia as a cover story. I don’t know what made her go inside the theatre, but it wasn’t to pull a girl from the rubble.’

‘And you know that because?’

‘Because she’s a liar. Claudia walked away without a scratch on her. Does that sound like the same person who dug Amelia out with her bare hands? Claudia saw an opportunity, and she took it. No one else had come forward, and not one person could describe the rescuer, not even Amelia.’

From inside the car, Karin was peeling away her scarf with gloved fingers. Amelia wasn’t the only one to have suffered memory loss.