‘Of course she did,’ Tobey snapped. ‘Respect where it’s due – kidnapping my daughter to force me to plead guilty to Dan’s murder was a stroke of genius. And, once I was in prison, no doubt it wouldn’t have been long before I met with a fatal accident … Of course … Did she now? That’s for definite? Dowd has disappeared …? Well, Eva didn’t hang about, did she? My guess is various parts of his body are littering the Albion Channel. That’s one wrinkle ironed out at least … No, don’t be stupid. This works in your favour. You can take over with no opposition …’

At which point, I turned round and, heartsick, headed back upstairs. I made a quick detour to check on Libby and Troy. A gentle knock, then I slowly opened Libby’s bedroom door, not wishing to wake her up if she were asleep. But her bed was made and unoccupied. There was no light coming from the en-suite bathroom either. Where on earth was she? She hadn’t left the house, had she? What was going on?

I went to check on Troy. The moment I opened the bedroom door, the light from the landing spilled into the room, illuminating the bed. There, on top of the duvet and both fully dressed, lay Troy and Libby, holding each other as they slept. Libby had probably heard Troy crying in his room and had gone to comfort him. Once again, tears pricked at my eyes as I watched them.

My brother, Troy. There was nothing I wouldn’t do to keep him safe. Nothing.

Should I wake them up so Libby could return to her own room? After a moment’s deliberation, I decided against it. They had both been to hell and back. It would take a long time before either of them felt truly secure, and ironically one of the few spaces and places they would feel safe was with each other.

I closed Troy’s bedroom door behind me and headed back to my own room.

Twenty minutes later and Tobey was still downstairs. Mastering the use of the electric kettle was obviously proving to be a challenge. Tobias Durbridge … the driver of all the misery that had smashed into my family over the last few days. Yes, Libby’s mum and Jon were the ones who had arranged for Libby to be kidnapped in the first place, but, if it hadn’t been for Misty and Libby, Troy never would’ve been taken. Jon had thought he was on to a nice little earner, courtesy of Tobey. Eva had seen Troy and Libby’s abduction as a chance to finally get rid of Tobey and to run the Outfit herself. I’d lost my mum, one of my best friends, and nearly lost my brother.

All thanks to Tobey.