Freya shrugs. ‘That’s fine,’ she says, surprising me, and as we walk she makes small talk about everything but the body. By the time we reach Rachel’s I know more about Freya than I could have imagined, and when she stops by the front door and turns to look at me, I suddenly wonder if she’s been lulling me into a false sense of security.

‘What is it?’ I say, cautiously.

Freya drops her gaze to the ground and kicks at a stone. When she looks up she says, ‘I thought you’d want to know the police are about to release a statement. About who the body is.’

‘Oh.’ A shudder ripples through my body. ‘Oh God,’ I say. ‘You’re telling me this because I know her.’

Freya nods slowly. Her eyes flick between mine.

‘Go on,’ I urge.

‘It’s Iona,’ she says. ‘Iona Byrnes.’

Evergreen Island

18 July 1993

Maria had toyed with the idea that it might be better if Iona didn’t come for dinner for a while. Especially after everything that had happened at the sleep-out. That it should be the five of them, drawing back in together, the way they always had when something had happened.

Sitting around the dinner table had always been a family event, but that summer she had opened the door to Iona and now there was a sixth person merging into her family and Maria knew it was time to stop it.

But five days later and she didn’t act upon her feelings because she’d watched Bonnie’s face as her daughter’s friend appeared in the morning. It had lit up when Iona pulled her out to the garden to talk.

Instead of listening to her gut, Maria had allowed herself to be swallowed up by her eldest child’s joy and later that day, when Bonnie came crashing into the house, telling her Iona would be coming for dinner, Maria relented.

She hadn’t been able to spot the earlier signs that disaster lay ahead, and there would soon be another coming. Yet still Maria continued to brush them aside. Could she really have been expected to predict the level of fall-out?

Of course she could.

After what they’d done she should have always been on guard, whatever guise the threat came in.

Bonnie loved that Iona said she had something really important to tell her. Her friend had pulled her to one side when the rest of the family were milling about in the kitchen, making breakfast, discussing what they planned to do for the day.

Stella had announced she was going to the beach again with Jill and it was almost comical the way their mum seemed so upset by it. Clearly she wanted to spend every day with Stella, but her little sister was completely wrapped up in her friend and their stupid secrets.