‘Last Saturday.’ Turner sneaks a glance at her colleague, the quiet guy, he’s wearing a navy jacket and seems to stand by her side doing nothing. ‘Did you see her there?’ she says.

‘No, I didn’t see her. Why is she looking for me?’ It’s frustrating that she won’t say why this dead woman wanted to contact me. Surely I should be told.

‘Did she speak to your mother or anyone else?’

‘Mom is unable to communicate, and I don’t know if she spoke to anyone else.’

‘What’s the address of the nursing home, Rebecca?’

The bitch won’t tell me why Katie Collins was looking for me.

‘Why won’t you tell me why she was looking for me?’ I say, sounding braver than I feel.

‘I can’t tell you at this point in the investigation.’ She opens a page in her notebook. ‘The address, please.’

Then I see him, standing outside the glass-paneled door, staring in at me. His eyes are black with anger, lips pressed tightly together. For a brief moment I picture him lying on top of me, his heavy breathing in my ear, his hands squeezing as he huffs and puffs his way inside me. Stephen Black is threatening me with his piercing eyes; he’s making sure I don’t mention his name. My heart is beating hard and I think I’m going to get sick. I want to stand up. I want to run out of this place.

‘Rebecca? The name of the nursing home. Now.’

‘Oakridge nursing home, Braintree.’ I say, and watch her scribble it down. ‘I need to get back to work, detective.’

‘Just one last thing and then you can go.’

Shifting in the chair, I straighten my back, thankful that this is almost over.

‘Where were you last Saturday night?’

The shape hovering behind the glass moves closer. Stephen’s eyes are wider than a teenage boy’s watching a woman undress. My head is going to cave in. I don’t know who I fear most. My boss or the cop. Both are frightening the life out of me.

‘I was working in Mattie’s.’

‘Until what time?’

‘About two a.m.’

‘And did you go anywhere after that?’

‘No, I went home.’

‘Is there anybody who can vouch for you? Were you with anyone else?’

I can feel his eyes through the glass, drilling a hole in my honesty.

‘No, I was alone.’

Chapter Twenty

I should not have left. Stephen Black will be pissed when he emerges from his office and discovers I’ve done a runner. But I couldn’t stay. I’m sick of being treated like the bad person in all this, the one letting everyone down and getting everyone into trouble. This was not my doing. I did not ask for any of this.