I shook my head. ‘I don’t understand, either. I can’t think of anyone who had a bad word to say about Clare. But the police are working morning, noon and night to track whoever it is down and get the animal who did this behind bars.’

She rested her head against my shoulder and I kissed her hair, angry and upset that my child had been robbed of her innocence in such a violent manner.

‘Do you really think they might hurt someone else?’ she asked.

My heart lurched. How much should I tell her? She was fifteen. A bright kid. If I was to suggest her going to Belfast for a bit, we’d more than likely have to tell her the truth – but the thought of her being scared horrified me.

‘One of the boys in the youth club said it was like those shows on TV, you know, like Criminal Minds or something. Like what if it’s a serial killer? I told him to wise up, we don’t get serial killers in Derry.’ She looked up at me, chewed her lip a little. ‘I heard Dad on the phone to you earlier about those flowers and I probably shouldn’t have, but I looked at the card after. It gave me the creeps. I heard you talking to Dad about what if you’re next and now I’m wondering if that boy in youth club was right?’

I was sure she must have been able to hear the persistent thudding of my heart in my chest. I wasn’t equipped for this. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

I took a deep breath. ‘Darling girl, we all need to be brave now and we have to remember that the police are on our side. They’re aware of everything that’s happened and they’re going to put extra patrols on in this area. They’ve assured me they’re watching out for us, but I’m not going to lie, darling. You’re an intelligent young woman. This is a scary time. I’m scared and I’m sure Dad is, too. But we’re doing everything we can to keep you and Molly extra safe.’

‘How can you do that if we don’t know who we’re watching out for?’ she asked and I felt her squeeze my hand tighter.

She didn’t look so much like a young woman as she did a scared child and I wanted to run away from all this with both her and with Molly, the two most important people in my life.

‘We have the police on our side,’ I repeated with a confidence I certainly didn’t feel. ‘But we may have to make some tougher decisions in the short term to be extra sure.’

‘Like what?’ she said.