‘For all of my seven followers?’ Georgia asked grumpily.

As Steve, John and Phil started packing up for the day, Georgia remembered she’d turned her phone off before the race. After booting up, she got a ping from Messenger and took a couple of seconds to recognise the face. It was Tasha from primary school, but she’d gone punk since Georgia last saw her.

Georgia opened the message.

I know it’s been ages and wish I’d done more to stay in touch. You poss remember, my mum is an x-ray technician at Park Hospital where your sister worked. She heard what happened to Sophie this morning and came home crying. I’m sad too and wanted to say, am still your friend and here for you any way I can be.

After that came a bunch of kisses and heart emojis.

Georgia’s twenty-four-year-old sister, Sophie, was a junior doctor at Park Hospital. She’d been suspended two months earlier, after a patient received a fatal dose of medication. Since Tasha’s mum worked at the same hospital, Georgia’s best guess was that she’d heard bad news about the investigation before anyone else.

But Tasha’s mum barely knew Sophie. So why would she come home in tears?

Sophie lived with her phone in her hands, so Georgia closed Tasha’s message and switched to her last messenger conversation with her sister.

Sophie Pack. Last online sixteen hours ago.

That seemed very wrong.

Georgia called Sophie, but got no answer on Facebook and her mobile went to voicemail. Georgia had been with her dad all day, so there was no way he’d know anything. She scrolled down to Mum Mobile in her phonebook and shuddered.

Georgia hadn’t spoken to her mum in weeks. Their last conversation ended with, ‘You’d take your father’s side no matter what I said or did. You’ve always been daddy’s girl,’ before she’d stormed off to her car.

But Tasha’s weird message and Sophie not being online for sixteen hours was scarier than the prospect of speaking to her mum.

She answered right away. ‘Georgia, honey?’ Rachel Pack said, sounding tense but weirdly gentle. ‘How’s it going up there?’

Georgia ignored the question. ‘Mum, I’m worried about Sophie. Do you remember my old friend Tasha? I got this weird message about Sophie, and she’s not been online since late last night …’

‘I was waiting for you at home,’ Georgia’s mum explained. ‘I still have my house key. I didn’t want to tell you over the phone, but I guess you can’t keep news off the internet.’

‘Tell me what?’ Georgia asked, her free hand making a tense fist.

‘You’d better put your dad on.’

‘Mum, what the bloody hell happened?’ Georgia demanded, loud enough for her dad and uncle to look around.

‘Honey …’ she answered, her voice wavering.