It was growing dark when Meg finally made her way home, a little unsteadily, from the beach. The bottle and three-quarters of wine they’d drunk between them was making her feel a lot more optimistic. As Ali said, there has to be a way through this. Her parting words, as they hugged on the seafront, were, ‘Courage is knowing what not to fear.’

Someone in her street was having a barbecue and the smell made her even hungrier. She heard music and laughter coming from behind the house where the smoke was rising as she passed it and felt a pang of envy – and sadness. Nick loved doing barbecues with Will, their man-thing. Burgers, veggie burgers, steaks, lamb cutlets, chicken wings, corn on the cob, baked potatoes, king prawns and, on occasion, when he was feeling extravagant, lobsters.

She rarely ate meat any more, but what wouldn’t she give for a big seared burger slathered in mustard and ketchup, with fried onions and a gherkin squashed inside a soft bap?

Ali’s words were ringing in her head as she fumbled with the key, dropped it and bent down to pick it up. But as she entered the house, her focus switched back to food; she was starving and trying to think what she had to make a quick supper. There was a stash of microwavable dishes in the freezer, as well as a couple of vegetarian pies she’d bought on a whim recently, during an extravagant excursion to Waitrose.

In her rush to get indoors, she tripped over the front step and almost fell, face-first, into the hall. She went inside, closing the door behind her and securing the chain, and hurried through into the kitchen. Daphne was sitting on top of the tall fridge.

‘What are you doing up there, you daft thing?’ she said.

The cat was often up there, or sitting on top of the antique Welsh dresser, seemingly enjoying the commanding views it gave her.

Meg glanced at the phones, checking there were no messages, emails or a WhatsApp from Laura, then pulled open the freezer section of the fridge and rummaged through the contents of the drawers. She spotted to her delight a packet of No Bull veggie burgers from Iceland. Perfect! She’d have her own faux barbecue: the burgers, a microwaved baked potato and beans.

She removed the packet and was reading the instructions when the burner phone rang.

‘Hello?’ she answered and an instant later, to her dread, heard the familiar male voice.

‘So, you had a nice time on the beach tonight with your friend, Alison, Meg. But very indiscreet of you – not to mention disobedient – to tell her so much,’ he chided. ‘Don’t you remember the warning I gave you? About what would happen to any friend you told?’

How the hell did he know where she had been this evening?

‘I didn’t tell her a thing about – you know.’