I wait. The only sounds are the subdued rumble of the car engine and the gentle hum of the heater fan. Outside, nothing is moving. It is a still, overcast night, and there are no lights showing at any windows along the road, other than the dull glow of what must be a nightlight in a neighbour’s house. I know her little boy sleeps in that room, and I wish for a moment that I was in there with him, warm and cosy, curled up in bed with a red spotted toadstool keeping the darkness at bay.

Moments later I hear a different sound. Another car is approaching, and I duck low in my seat, fearing once more that Thea and Garrick are looking for me. But I’m wrong. The car pulls up behind the one at the end of my drive, and a man gets out to go and talk to whoever is in the first car.

I lower my window a fraction in case I can hear what is said, but as the man from the second car bends at the waist to speak through the open window, I realise they are too far away. There is a brief laugh, and the second man bangs his hand lightly on the roof of the car and returns to his own vehicle.

Bright headlights illuminate the street ahead, and the first car pulls away. The second one draws forward to take its place at the end of the drive.

And that’s when I see it.

As the car pulls slightly up onto the pavement, it is angled towards the house. And just before the headlights are extinguished I see something blue and white flutter in a rare gust of breeze.

I know what it is.

There is no one in my house. No one is coming home. My last glimmer of hope fades because outside sits a policeman, I’m sure. And across the drive is a strip of police crime-scene tape.

Thea wasn’t lying at all.

I killed him.

CHAPTER 48

48

Tom arrived at headquarters just before seven. He hated the fact that he’d had to drag Becky out of bed this early when she was so close to the baby’s due date, and he could tell by looking at her that she wasn’t sleeping too well. But after Philippa’s phone call the evening before, he needed to brief her.

Like the professional she was, Becky was not only there already, but had clearly got in early and made Tom a much-needed cup of coffee.

‘Sorry about this, Becky, but Philippa has passed a case over to us. It was with another team, but one of their investigations has blown up in their faces and she wants them to focus, so this one’s ours now.’

‘Okay, what do we know?’