Detective Lee is the first to speak and when all the formal introductions are made, rules are explained and buttons are pressed. She asks me if I knew Avril Ryan. I look at Sean who nods the all clear for me to answer and I shake my head. I’m reminded I need to speak the words so I tell her that I don’t know and I never knew Avril Ryan.

Detective Lee turns a page in her folder, appears to read something then rests both her arms on the table and says, ‘Are you sure you didn’t know Avril Ryan?’

I look at Sean again then back to the detective. ‘No.’

‘No you’re not sure, or no you didn’t know her?’

‘I didn’t know her.’

‘If my client says she didn’t know Avril Ryan she didn’t know her,’ Sean interrupts. He believes me. He already asked me all this.

‘We have testimony that says you did know her.’

‘What?’

My body sinks into itself. I want to run and yet I can’t move. Who would say that? I feel the bright light dimming. I’m going to collapse. If the detectives believe I’ve been lying about knowing Avril Ryan, they’re going to want to arrest me. At the very least, they’re going to destroy my wedding to Lucas. He won’t want to marry me if he thinks I’ve lied to him. I won’t be able to move to Australia. I think I’m going to be sick.

Sean is talking in my ear, telling me to take deep breaths and hands me a glass of water.

‘This isn’t the truth, Sean,’ I say. ‘They’re lying. I didn’t know her. I never met her.’ The air is barely reaching my lungs so I take deep breath after deep breath. ‘Who told you that?’ I direct my angry voice at the detective. ‘Because they’re lying.’

‘Faye Connolly,’ she says with a smile on her face like she’s the cat that got the cream.

‘Faye Connolly?’ I can barely get the words out of my mouth. Why would Faye say that? What the hell is going on?

‘Are you sure?’ I say. ‘Faye?’

‘Yes.’

I turn to Sean, shaking my head, my eyes pleading for an explanation.

‘I don’t know why she’d say that, I didn’t know her. I…’ Tears are falling down my face and I hope this doesn’t make me look guilty.