She stalks back down the field, the sound of Tom’s sobs still ringing in her ears, and lets herself back into the house. The others are gathered in the living room area, clutching mugs of tea and handfuls of biscuits. Phoenix calls her name but she doesn’t acknowledge him. She continues on past the kitchen, through the corridor and into the bland, featureless room that’s supposed to be her bedroom for the next five days. She hasn’t unpacked much, just a book, her washbag, earplugs, a small reading light and her hypothyroid medication. She scoops them up from the bedside table, carries them over to her suitcase and places them neatly inside. She zips the suitcase up and is halfway to the door when she remembers she’s left her mobile phone behind. It’s on the carpet, near the head of the bed, plugged into the only socket she could find in the room. She looks at the first line of her mum’s message – Tell me EVERYTHING – then spots a small, white folded piece of paper lying on the carpet. She unfolds it, expecting to find a shopping list or a cleaning rota but what’s written inside isn’t a stranger’s idle musings.

Fran, Don’t trust a word Tom tells you. Your sister DID NOT kill herself. Go for a walk after dinner and I’ll tell you everything.

Chapter 13

Then

JENNA

Jenna shivers beneath the soft fluffy cotton of her dressing gown as she steps carefully over the rocky waste ground, Hotel Ta’ Cenc in her sights. The moment she gets back to her room she’s going to jump into the shower and she’s going to stay there until she’s regained the feeling in her hands and feet. Tom, beside her, doesn’t appear to be feeling the cold at all. He’s talking nineteen to the dozen about the benefits of cold water swimming and how it’s been clinically proven to help ease, or even cure, depression. She enjoyed their swim – when she finally plucked up the courage to jump into the icy cold water – if enjoyed was the right word to describe her breath catching in her throat, her heart pounding violently and every millimetre of her skin singing with pain. Tom treaded water beside her as she fought to pull air into her lungs, telling her not to panic, urging her to steady her breathing.

‘Trust me,’ he told her. ‘You can do this. You’re not going to die.’

And as Tom repeated his instruction her breathing returned to normal and her heartbeat settled. As he nodded at her, smiling with satisfaction, she threw back her head and shouted ‘Fuckkkkk!’ at the sky.

Tom laughed. ‘That was my reaction too, the first time I went cold water swimming. Come on, let’s swim.’