By the time we reach Evergreen the sky is thick with black clouds. Lights begin to flicker on along the jetty, but there should be enough daylight to find my way to Rachel’s.

I haven’t called ahead to check she is happy for me to stay another night. I haven’t particularly planned what I am going to do. I’d driven straight from Birmingham to Poole, ignoring the voices in my head, because if I’d listened to them I feared I would stop the car. There were already too many good reasons for me to do just that, including my promise to Bonnie, but I knew if I did I might not get to the truth. And for as long as Danny is sitting in a cell, believing he killed Iona, I will not give up looking for it.

The air is cold but fresh as it slaps against my face, rainwater dripping into my open mouth as I stand on the end of the jetty. Behind me the ferry chugs away and I’m suddenly alone on an island where night is crawling towards me fast and I can be certain the islanders don’t want me. It is hard to believe I once belonged. Holding my hood against my head, I finally hurry forward while I can still see the way.

It takes Rachel a while to come to the door and when she opens it her face falls.

‘I’m just here for the night,’ I tell her. ‘I’m going again in the morning.’

She shakes her head, eyes narrowing. ‘You aren’t staying here.’

‘But …’ I look past her to the empty hallway. ‘You must still have the room available. And like I said, it’s just for one night.’

‘I don’t care if it is, you aren’t staying here,’ she says firmly, leaning towards me as she adds, ‘I know why you suddenly ran off. I know what your brother has done. Evil.’ Rachel screws her face up in disgust. ‘And people aren’t surprised. He used to frighten all the girls.’

‘You didn’t even know him,’ I protest. ‘And that’s not true at all.’

‘None of us want you back on this island. You realise that, I hope.’ She stops and shakes her head. ‘I only wish I’d never given you a bed in the first place.’

I grit my teeth, hesitant. I don’t know where else to go, but I won’t plead for a room now. ‘My brother’s innocent,’ I say. ‘And I’m going to prove it, then you and the whole bloody island will really have something to talk about.’

I turn away, expecting to hear the slam of Rachel’s front door, but as I walk to the path in the quiet I realise she must be watching me go. Only when I’m at the corner do I finally hear it close.