The village waited beneath an endless blue dome of early evening sky. When she’d parked the car by the hedge she went inside.

Hugo was sitting on the sofa staring blankly at the TV. Clancy didn’t look at him. He didn’t look at her either but said, offhandedly, ‘Lover boy rang for you.’

‘Thanks.’ Clancy felt a small lift of her heart and went over to the phone, not caring that Hugo was there to listen.

The ring tone sounded six times before Aaron answered.

‘Hey,’ she said. ‘It’s me.’

‘Hey,’ he said, sounding distracted. ‘Can I ring you back? Mum’s really upset—’

‘Sure.’ She waited to see if he’d say anything else, wondering whether her scratchy conversation with Yvonne earlier was what had upset her. When he didn’t add anything she said, ‘Speak to you later,’ and replaced the phone in its cradle. Realising she hadn’t eaten since breakfast, she crossed to the fridge for the chicken breast she’d put there. Miracles, it was where she’d left it, and she wrapped it in foil with a slice of onion and shoved it in the oven. She’d make a salad to eat with it when it was cooked.

Before she could go up to her room, the landline rang again, burbling from its holster on the wall.

Clancy picked it up quickly. But, rather than it being Aaron calling back as promised, a strange noise came down the line. ‘Hello?’ Clancy said tentatively. Then she thought she caught her name. ‘Sorry, I can’t make out …’ Then her stomach did a slow flip-flop as she recognised that the strange noise was crying. And she knew the voice. ‘Will?’

A quavering sob answered her.

‘Will,’ she said again, more urgently. ‘What on earth’s the matter?’

‘Hospital,’ he choked out. ‘Renée’s really bad. Monty and Asila too. This moron in a lorry …’ He gulped, let out a high-pitched keening noise. ‘I was driving, Clancy. We were coming off the M11. He just changed lanes and left me nowhere to go. I’m at the hospital and they’re all more hurt than me. I don’t know what to do.’

‘Hang on,’ she found herself saying, because she always knew what to do. The hard shit. ‘I’ll come. Which hospital? Homerton? I’m on my way.’

Chapter Twenty-Four

Aaron had walked into his garden after walking Nelson to find his mum there in tears.

‘Oh, Aaron!’ she sobbed as soon as she saw him. ‘Whatever’s he done?’

‘Who?’ he demanded sharply but he didn’t really have to ask. It must be Lee. A cold sweat broke over him. ‘Come indoors and tell me what’s happened.’

He had to get Yvonne a glass of water because she was crying so hard she couldn’t form words he could understand. Nelson sat in his basket, looking worried and unhappy. When the phone rang, Aaron picked it up in case it was his brother. Clancy’s voice spoke to him and he rapped out, ‘Can I ring you back? Mum’s really upset.’ Though he would love to have talked to her because he’d been ringing the Roundhouse to try and tell her about Lee and Daisy moving in, he obviously had A Situation to deal with first. He replaced the phone, aware she’d put down at her end too abruptly for comfort.