“Do you visit her grave?”

“She’s a good listener,” Angela said with a smile. “I take fresh flowers every Wednesday. I let her down, you see. I want her to know that I’m making up for it now.”

Jack inquired exactly how Angela had let Dolly down, but she didn’t give much detail away; instead she spoke about how it made her feel.

“It was personal. I made a mistake . . . with a bloke. I lost a baby. And when everyone else turned their backs on me, Dolly looked me straight in the eye and told me what a stupid little bitch I’d been. She was right. And, just after she set me straight, she hugged me tighter than I’d ever been hugged in my life. That’s what I mean when I say she could suss a person out as soon as look at them—she knew what I needed.”

“She sounds like an amazing woman.”

Angela wasn’t fooled by Jack’s kind words. If he’d already visited Ester, he’d know that Dolly was hated just as much as she was loved. It all depended whether or not she was on your side. As the evening drew in, Jack thanked Angela for the tea, scribbled down his mobile number in case she remembered anything else, and left her to her work. Once he’d gone, Angela went to her window and waited. Eventually, he appeared in the car park below and headed toward Kensal Green Underground.

Angela stepped up onto the arm of the sofa and took down the teddy bear and teething ring. She cried easily as she recalled the moment, twenty-four years ago, that she’d told Dolly she was pregnant. She was young and petrified and just to say the words out loud relieved so much pressure. Dolly took her to Mothercare, where she bought and paid for all of the essentials. Angela had subsequently lost the baby and, in a fit of unimaginable distress, she’d destroyed everything Dolly had bought. Except a small teddy bear and a bright yellow teething ring.

But tonight, Angela didn’t cry for the loss of her baby . . . she cried for the loss of Dolly.

Chapter 16

After Anik’s previous encounter with Susan Withey—when he mostly impressed Ridley with his approach and his questioning—he was perhaps a little too confident going into this notification of death.

Susan was in the middle of getting ready to go out, and so she didn’t play by the book at all. When Anik asked her to sit, she didn’t. When he asked her to listen, she continued multitasking. It was only when he started following her round the downstairs rooms that Ridley took over.

“Susan.” Ridley’s voice was an enviable mix of gentle and authoritative. He stood in Susan’s way, put a hand on her back and steered her into the lounge, talking as he moved. “I need to be certain that I have your full attention, please.” He sat down on the sofa, subliminally suggesting she do exactly the same. “We’ve now made a DNA identification on the body found at Rose Cottage.”