Callie didn’t speak. She just shook her head. I took her hand again. This time, Callie didn’t pull away. Her fingers were cool as they curled round mine. And there we sat, with the body of Persephone Hadley lying on the hospital bed before us, as I struggled in vain to find some words, some way, to take away Callie’s pain.

sixty-five. Troy

Home. I was finally back home and it had never felt sweeter. My house. My room. Nana Meggie. I would never take any of them for granted ever again. Now I just needed Mum and Callie to return to complete my circle of relief. After a visit to the hospital to check us both and to strap up my severely sprained ankle, Libby and I sat at the kitchen table, eating the mountainous mass of scrambled eggs, plantain and beans on toast that Nana Meggie had insisted on making for us, despite the late hour. Libby was just picking at it. I was tucking in. And damn, it tasted good. One of the best meals of my life.

Nana Meggie insisted that we both fill her in on every moment from the time we were kidnapped to the time we were rescued. I let Libby do most of the talking while I carried on eating, and Libby didn’t leave anything out. She even told Nana Meggie about her mum’s involvement in our abduction and what had subsequently happened to her. If I’d been telling the story, I might’ve glossed over that bit. When Libby was finished, Nana Meggie turned to her, her expression thoughtful.

‘Libby, you are welcome to stay with us until your dad sorts out a proper home for you.’

‘Thank you, but I couldn’t impose like that—’

‘It’s not an imposition,’ Meggie insisted. ‘It’s an invitation. You certainly can’t go back to your mum’s house and, as you’ve only just reconnected with your dad, he won’t be geared up to have a teenage girl staying with him permanently. Plus he’ll probably be resuming his political duties soon and you shouldn’t be alone. It’s not healthy. So I insist that you stay with us for as long as you like.’

Libby smiled, tears shimmering in her eyes. ‘Thank you, Mrs McGregor,’ she whispered.

‘Oh please. Call me Nana Meggie,’ said my nana, smiling. ‘After everything the two of you have been through, this is the best place for you, Libby. It’ll be hard for anyone else to appreciate exactly what you’ve both had to endure over the last couple of days.’

Libby nodded, turning her head away to dash the back of one hand over her eyes. I carried on eating my plantain.