Sarah saw her mother shiver. She wasn’t sure if she had a fever or if the memory of Tommy’s dad had made her react that way.

‘He was a customer, nothing more, and a bit of a brief encounter really. I didn’t know his surname, I only ever called him Bert. He used to come round three times a week, but he never liked to talk. He’d pay me a fair bit over the odds so that he’d be my exclusive client. He always paid up, but I had this strange feeling about him. Nothing I could put my finger on, but he … well … he scared me. Anyhow, after a few months, I realised I was pregnant with Tommy and told him he’d have to stop visiting. I lied to him, and told him I was still seeing other blokes, Eddy and a couple more. I said I didn’t know who the father was, but I knew it was him. It was just an excuse to get rid of him, he gave me the creeps.’

‘So what was so evil about him?’

‘Water,’ Annie said, and pointed to a cup by her side.

Sarah held her mother’s head up as she struggled to drink from the cup. Then she laid her head back down and sighed heavily.

‘Does it hurt, Mum?’ Sarah asked.

Her mother nodded, and Sarah could see her face was twisted in pain.

‘A few days later, I was in the pub and someone had left a paper on the bar. I couldn’t believe it, I saw Bert’s face on the front page, staring out at me, and the headlines said “Bert – The Blood Bath Murderer”. Honestly, I was shaking when I read what he’d done. Turns out, after he’d left me, he’d gone home and murdered his pregnant wife and young child. He’d chopped them up into pieces in their bath. That could have been us, Sarah. He could have killed us all.’

Sarah gasped in utter shock. She’d heard of the murders. The kids in the playground had talked about it. Everyone had been disgusted, and to think that man was Tommy’s father! ‘What happened to him?’

‘He was found guilty and swung for it. But now can you see why I wanted to get rid of Tommy? What if he turns out like his father?’

No, thought Sarah, Tommy was such a sweet child, he was nothing like his dad, she was sure of that. ‘He won’t, Mum. He’s such a good boy, and so loving. He ain’t got a bad bone in his body. I can never tell him about this though.’

‘Like I said, I hope for your sake that you’re right. Look, I’ve said my piece, you know everything now, and I’m tired Sarah, really tired. Let me be now, eh? Leave me in peace to die.’