Someone is trying to stop me finding out the truth, and it’s with a sense of unease that I step out into the howling storm, leaving Annie alone upstairs.

Evergreen Island

7 September 1993

Maria’s mind was a tumbling mess. So determined had she been to confront Bob about Jill that she hadn’t stopped to think about the repercussions.

Her conversation with Iona continued to spin round and round in her head, and if she hadn’t faced up to Bob she would have told him Iona was a threat.

But Stella’s revelation had overpowered her thoughts and she’d acted on instinct. And now she was almost certain she hadn’t done the right thing and was left with the unsettling feeling that she would have to do something about Iona herself.

Maria paused at her kitchen window, spotting David through the trees at the bottom of the garden. She drew in a breath and considered telling him what she knew, asking what they should do.

Confiding in him would of course have been the right decision. But as he lingered at the bottom of the treehouse, leaning his head back as he spoke to whoever was up there, Maria found herself grabbing her keys and scurrying out around the back of the house before he spotted her. There was someone else’s advice she’d seek instead.

David waited for all three of his children to retire to their rooms that night and only when their doors were safely closed behind them did he ask Maria to sit down on a comfy chair in the living room.

‘You look exhausted,’ he said. She did – and normally he’d be worrying about her, but right now it wasn’t concern he felt. ‘What have you been up to today?’ he asked, though he knew damn well what she’d been doing. He’d seen her fleeing out of the house and had followed her to the edge of the woods, where he watched her run to Annie.

His wife glanced up at him, her eyes wide with fear. Once upon a time he would have sat beside her, wrapping his arms around her, but he carried on standing by the fireplace. His arms were linked tightly across his chest, his feet planted apart, and he knew she would notice all this. He wanted her to.

When Maria didn’t answer David said, ‘I’ve been with Iona.’ He knew this would get her attention.

Her mouth snapped open. ‘What were you—’

‘She’s barely more than a child, Maria,’ he interrupted. ‘You should never have gone running to Annie.’

‘I didn’t, I—’ Maria broke off. She must have realised he knew she was lying.

‘I am your husband. You should have come to me first. We should have spoken about it.’

‘I tried, David,’ she said. ‘You know I did. Only you never listened.’

‘You didn’t try.’