She kneels against the side of the dinghy and stretches out her arms, her fingers wrapped around the paddle. ‘Grab the end!’ The river is starting to pick up speed again and if they don’t get Geraldine back into the boat she’ll drift downstream. As Geraldine splashes towards the oar, still honking like a seal, Kate glances around. Where the fuck are the safety canoeists?

‘Holy shit!’ Phoenix scrambles onto his knees, making the dinghy rock precariously, and points further down the river. ‘Joy’s … oh my god …’

Kate follows the direction of his finger and her breath catches in her throat. Lying on her back, arms crossed over her chest and hurtling into the distance, is Joy. Speeding after her, riding the current, are the two safety canoeists.

As Kate stares, transfixed, the oar is roughly snatched from her hands and she’s shoved against the side of the dinghy.

‘Geri!’ Evan shouts. ‘Hang on. I’m pulling you in.’

Kate retreats to the opposite side of the boat and squeezes herself up against Renata, Phoenix and Damian, as the rafting instructor pulls Geraldine closer to the boat and then heaves her up and over the side.

‘Are you okay?’ He crouches beside her as she rolls onto her side and coughs violently, each inhalation a noisy, scratchy wheeze.

Evan looks over at the instructor in the other boat and raises his thumb. ‘She’s fine.’

‘I am not fine.’ Geraldine props herself up on her elbow. ‘Someone was stamping on my helmet.’ Her gaze flicks from Renata, to Phoenix, to Damian, before settling on Kate. ‘I could have died.’

Chapter 24

Now

FRAN

Fran stands by the window of Caroline’s room, watching a robin grub around in the dirt outside. ‘Go to my one-to-one and let Kate slip in here and finish you off? Absolutely not.’

Caroline sighs and pulls the duvet tighter around her shoulders. It’s been several hours since they returned from the river and they’ve both showered and changed their clothes. Unlike Fran, who feels fine, save a strange taste in the back of her throat, Caroline is still bone cold and has been complaining that her chest aches.

‘What makes you think we’re any safer in here?’ she asks.

‘Well, she can’t drown us, for one.’

‘No, but she could petrol bomb us through the window and set fire to the house.’ Caroline laughs dryly. ‘Scratch that, Kate’s sneakier than that. Did you watch the interviews she did after Tom was arrested?’

‘One or two.’