‘We’re in the middle of the horror of it!’ I shouted. ‘We could be at risk, Paul. How many times do I have to say it before it sinks into your head? And I’m sorry if all this is taking over our lives at the moment – Clare was one of my best friends, I’ve known her longer than I’ve known you. She’s been a part of my life for thirty years. Do you think I should just get over that? Did you even see the paper today? The horrific details Ingrid Devlin printed in The Chronicle? That whoever did it cut her throat so deeply that they almost decapitated her? Do you think it’s okay to subject the girls to that kind of risk? And what about me? Are you happy knowing it could be your wife that’s next?’ I was shouting now to drown out the repetitive slam of the knife blade against the block.

I was shouting so loud that I hadn’t heard Beth come down the stairs and walk into the room. It was only when I heard her wail ‘Mu-um!’ that I looked around to see her pale face, her eyes open wide in shock. ‘That’s not true, is it? Mum?’

‘For Christ’s sake!’ I heard from Paul behind me.

I turned to look at him, saw the sharp end of the knife pointing directly at me.

‘Just look what you’ve done now!’ he yelled.

I stared at him, the silence stretching between us. I didn’t know how to react or what to say. The phone rang. We both looked at each other for a moment before I turned and picked it up. It was Ronan.

‘Rachel,’ he said. ‘The police have been on to us asking about any unusual floral arrangements. They said some of Clare’s friends had received something strange. Have you?’

I turned my back to Paul and walked out of the room, cradling the phone to my ear. ‘Yes. Julie and I both have.’

‘Like the ones left at the roadside? The forget-me-nots?’

‘Yes, with a strange note.’

‘We received some, too,’ he said. ‘Some garbled eye-for-an-eye type message on it.’

I sat down on the sofa. How was it possible that this nightmare kept getting worse?

Chapter Twenty-One

Elizabeth

The rattle of the door-knocker just after 8 p.m. made me jump and sent Izzy into a barking frenzy. Normally I’d have laughed and told her to calm down, but I was on edge, too. People didn’t routinely call to my door without letting me know they were coming to visit.

Nonetheless, I managed to quiet Izzy down and walked to the front of the house, to the formal front door – which was really more ornamental than anything, as most people came in through the kitchen door.