‘Yes. Me upstairs, and you, in your white nightie, next to him. I’d seen you in that nightie before. In the garden. At night. Locked out.’ My breathing became very shallow. I felt that horrible, panicky feeling return. ‘When your husband locked you out, sometimes in the winter. I saw him open the door, once. I didn’t know then it was Michael. Didn’t know you were the couple I’d met at Millie’s dinner until much later. He was just the odd man who lived at the back. And you were that poor strange wife. I assumed you were the wife. He left you there for ages, in the garden, and you sat in dark corners, where he pointed, in the flower beds, crushing your plants. I saw you from my top-floor room, whenever Lars was here. Once, I nearly rang the police. Or social services. But I didn’t. I don’t know why. I wish I had. I think … because he didn’t push you out. You seemed to go willingly. He sort of …’ she hesitated. ‘Let you out. Like a dog. I should have done, should have said something, I realize that now. But I told myself it was domestic. Private. And I was having my own domestic turmoil here. I had a husband having sex with a friend of my daughter’s down the road. Same age. Seventeen. That’s where he’d returned from, that night, when I was in the spare room. I wasn’t reading, obviously. Just … awake. Thinking. Thinking. Then I saw you.’

I stared at her, dumbfounded. Eventually I found my voice. ‘But … we had lunch. And you and Michael had already had lunch—’

‘I told you,’ she interrupted, ‘I didn’t know it was you. Or him. That you were that couple. How could I? I didn’t know you were the woman at the back, as I called you. Did you know where I lived, when we met at Millie’s?’

‘No. I had no idea.’

‘And the police didn’t talk to me for ages. The first time they came, early on, I was out. They spoke to Sophia, my daughter, who said we were all asleep. By the time they returned, I’d just been to the memorial service, with Millie and Simon. Millie had casually mentioned, when you came in with your family, that you and Michael lived right behind me. When your daughter got up in the church and told us what he’d done, what a bully he was – suddenly I went cold. I knew. I realized who you were. I was so shocked, I left early. I couldn’t stay there any longer. I felt sick. Really sick. The police came round that afternoon. I was still very angry.’ She gave me a flinty look and raised her chin defiantly. ‘I told them what I’d seen.’