‘Yes, she’s here,’ Fran says, and she is cool again, no trace of the fear that crossed her face when she realised it was me on the doorstep, although her fingers tremble slightly as she holds out a hand towards me. ‘I can explain everything.’

‘I hope so, because I really want to hear it.’ My voice is steady, and I manage to blink back the tears of relief that sting my eyes at the knowledge that Laurel is OK, that she wasn’t taken by strangers.

‘That night . . . the night of the bonfire,’ Fran says, meeting my eyes, ‘it was the perfect opportunity. I could get Laurel away and no one would ever suspect that I had anything to do with it. She’s OK, you know that, right? I wouldn’t have ever hurt her.’

‘How, though?’ I say, thinking back to that awful night. ‘How could you have possibly done this? And why? I don’t understand why you would even want to do something like this.’

‘It wasn’t so hard once I thought about it all.’ She sounds thoughtful. ‘I knew Dominic was having an affair. With Pamela, I suspect. I saw the texts on his phone. I knew what would happen once Pamela got her claws back into him – he always loved her, you know? I was always a poor second to his precious Pammy, and Lord knows if I hadn’t got pregnant with Laurel we never would have lasted.’ She gives a rueful laugh. ‘Thing is, I loved Dominic so much, until I started to hate him, that is.’

‘But . . . you could have simply left. Taken Laurel and started again.’

‘Ha!’ Fran snorts. ‘I know what happens when people get divorced, Anna. I watched it happen with my parents. My father left, and he took it all, he left my mother with nothing. There was no way I was going to end up destitute while Dominic and bloody Pamela were living it up. And how long before Pamela decided she wanted Laurel too? You know Dominic wanted her to have an abortion?’

‘Yes, she told me that, that day when I confronted her, but honestly Fran, this is . . .’

‘Don’t tell me what this is!’ she hisses at me. ‘You have no idea. Dominic was violent to me, he hurt me, and I couldn’t risk him hurting Laurel too, so I had to get rid of him.’

I say nothing, as she rambles on, convinced by her own lies.