It had been a lovely surprise to see Joe and his family again. Sandra knew, that secretly, Fred was hoping to woo Annie into recognising that their group was not hocus pocus or weird, just peaceful and beautiful. If it was Fred’s wish to change her mind, he stood little chance of that now.

Of course, Joe had been kind, but Annie had been horrified, and in front of her children too. She’d spoken to her in the kitchen when the police were there, and out of earshot of the boys, and it was clear that Annie suspected the group was involved in some way.

‘If you get yourself caught up in something you don’t understand then it’s bound to come back on you. What was Mary doing that you don’t know about?’ Annie had asked her. Right here, in her own kitchen. Sandra hadn’t known what to say. What could she say? Annie was talking utter nonsense.

Because they were in the house when the police came, Annie and Joe were questioned too. They’d both said they knew Mary through Fred, but they hadn’t seen her for a few years. Sandra supposed it was true enough. The boys were ushered back to the car, once they’d been fed, and Annie took them home, but Joe had stayed. He was a good man and Sandra could tell that Fred wanted him there. He’d been like a son to him at one point.

Jock had come round and it had been like old times, of a sort. Until every other minute they remembered why they were gathered. Joe left first, after a handful of phone calls from Annie. Sandra had fed him, and then Jock. Nothing could put Jock off his food and he fired questions aimlessly at anyone listening as his head whirred in search for answers that no one had.

‘Are you sure you can’t think of anyone who had something against her? Someone who tried to join the group? Someone who despised her animals? We all know that she was seen as the local cat lady, and their whining and pissing everywhere drove her neighbours nuts.’ Jock was a doer. He was the last person to be caught wallowing and wailing. Sandra felt his frustration.

‘But you don’t kill someone because their cat shits in your garden,’ Sandra said.

‘But you heard what they said: the animals were all killed as well, don’t you think that’s odd?’

Sandra agreed. It had to have something to do with Mary’s pets.

‘She was so innocent, such a good person that she was. It’s tough on you, Fred, most of all. I can’t believe it.’ Jock’s eyes were pink at the edges and Sandra’s heart ached at the pain caused by the violence of Mary’s death.