Struggling to open the dodgy lock on the trunk of my car, I twist and turn the key until eventually it gives way. I place Bert’s gift inside, even though I’m tempted to look in the bag. But I can’t, Bert still has his eye on me through the window; I’ll have to wait until I get home. Driving away, I think about what Danny’s warning about Katie Collins. I wonder if he knows I’m a suspect, that Katie Collins visited Mom in the home. Maybe he’s just playing the big brother, looking out for me. But I don’t think so, not this time.

This time is different. Danny is hiding something.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Danny won’t be at home today, it’s ladies only and boy, do I mean ladies. A gaggle of them are sitting in the kitchen when I arrive, all primped to perfection in pinks, yellow and blues. I’m in black. My hair is tied back into a plait because it’s still wet. Unlike all the other contestants, who must have been sitting in an adjustable chair first thing this morning, I didn’t have time to dry it.

There’s nothing new in the feeling that I don’t belong here. I get it every time I’m forced to attend one of Joanna’s get-togethers. All her shiny friends, with their shiny degrees and even shinier husbands. I never did get it. Joanna seems so much nicer than this lot.

‘Edel from college’, which is how she is routinely introduced by Joanna, is doing an awesome job of everything. There are glasses of bubbly lining the counter with strawberries drowning in each glass, reminding everyone how far they’ve come. The table is covered in trays of tiny little sandwiches and other nibbles. A tower of cupcakes – more pinks, yellows and blues – stands center-stage. Why, I don’t know; none of these bony creatures eat cupcakes. Joanna sits like a ball of wool amongst a stack of needles. But not for long. If I know Joanna, she’ll be back in the gym before the baby has its first nappy change.

I don’t plan on staying long. I’ll wait for the gifts to be opened, then I’m out of here. I’ve too much to do, too much to think about, and I want to finish unpacking the stuff I brought over to Jeff’s.

‘I can’t wait for this baby to be born,’ Joanna says, struggling to stand when I hand her my gift. It’s not actually my gift, I didn’t find the opportunity or the money to get one yet, so I’m giving her Bert’s for today. I’ll explain all when I get the real one. The small gift bag looks a bit miserable beside the mountain of impressively wrapped gifts in the corner of the room.