I want to ask her why, but I’m supposed to be lethargic and amenable, so I nod my head and don’t meet her eyes. I mutter, ‘Sorry,’ under my breath and I hear her give a small sigh.

‘The doctor would like to see you,’ she says. ‘I’m sure you’ll find it helpful in coming to terms with what you’ve done.’

I close my eyes for a second. Thea is right. I do need to accept my guilt, although I seem to remember her suggesting more than once that it might be better for everyone if Ian were dead. Of course, that was just a figure of speech. I’m sure she never meant it.

‘Come along,’ she says. ‘Follow me.’

The other doors are shut, and I wonder what is going on in the heads of the women hiding behind them. Were they as confused as I am when they first arrived? I have no time to think as we reach the top of the stairs.

‘Turn away from the door, please,’ Thea says. I realise she doesn’t want me to see what number she punches in. Each number has a different tone, and the sequence sounds eerily tuneful.

‘Why do you lock us in, Thea?’ I ask, realising too late that had I taken my soup, topped up by the drink, I would probably be too doped to ask questions.

Thea turns towards me and narrows her eyes. She’s not sure what to make of me, and I lower my head meekly.

‘We can’t have you – any of you – walking up into the house whenever it suits you. We may have visitors, and I’m sure that by now your face is all over the newspapers. We have to make sure that you’re hidden. It’s for your own good. Do you not understand that?’

Her voice rises with irritation, but I can’t help myself.

‘So if I want to leave, I can?’ I try hard to keep my voice dull, slow, as if these thoughts are just meandering through my mind rather than being the focus of my attention.

Thea tuts. ‘Of course you can. I really don’t understand your problem.’ I can hear a trace of anger in her voice now, and I am worried that I have gone too far. ‘I invited you here because you were in trouble and had nowhere to go. And now you’re in far greater trouble, and we’re trying our very best to help you. In return, you seem to feel it’s acceptable to insinuate that you are here under duress. Would you like me to show you where the key to the front door is? Would you like me to drive you to the police station? It can be arranged, believe me.’