Placing the cards back where I found them, I shuffle through the rest of Danny’s memorabilia and notice a small plastic bag stuffed in the corner. The soft wool itches my hand as I pull out the contents. Baby socks. White knitted socks covered in old dirt and soil. They can’t be, can they? Blood rushes to my head, my stomach lurches. These are Becca’s socks. He must have taken them off her little feet while she lay in the ground. But he couldn’t have done that when he was three years old. Danny must have returned to the scene of the crime at some point as an adult.

I stare at the socks with the lacy top, gently running my fingers over the pattern. Funny, I never did like socks with lace trimmings. The noise of Mrs. Cooper once again shuffling down the hallway breaks in on my trance and reminds me of why I’m here. The note, Louise, the note. But I can’t find it. It’s nowhere in this, Danny’s secret world.

I say my goodbyes and walk out of the house to where the cold night encircles me. I think about Danny, his secrets, his pretending, and I wonder what else he is hiding. The fact that the note is not in his secret drawer, which I’ve no doubt is where he’d keep it if he did have it, does not mean he didn’t destroy it. Having secrets is a way of life for him. The question is, how far would he go to keep them?

Chapter Sixty

‘I can’t go today, Jeff. I’m going to the funeral.’

‘What about afterwards?’

Jeff is not letting go of the promise I made him. He thinks I should be down at the police station now, cell in hand. I didn’t tell him about Danny’s secret drawer because I know he’ll jump to conclusions and he already thinks Danny is the killer.

Asking for help with the zip on my dress, I walk into his bedroom. Jeff is dousing his clear skin with some sort of shaving lotion. It’s smells a bit strong for my liking but I say nothing, presuming the overbearing poison will die down after a while.

‘Black suits you,’ he says, taking hold of the zip and tugging it up.

I can’t tell if he’s being funny or serious because I have my back to him, so I turn around. ‘I’m always in black,’ I say, watching him repress his urge to laugh as his eyes look me up and down.

‘Well then, dresses suit you.’

I blush, thinking he may have given me a compliment, and leave the room.