‘My dad being in any kind of relationship with Tina doesn’t automatically mean he would abduct her daughter! That thinking is ludicrous. What I think it proves is that my dad wasn’t the man everyone made him out to be. And Tina saw that. She saw something good in him where no one else could – or would – even attempt to. He was hounded the entire time he lived in this village, and she might’ve been the only person he had on his side. I bet that didn’t go down well with the women at the bloody Mapledon Meeting.’ Lizzie jabbed a finger at the photograph further along the wall. ‘They’re the ones who are key, I think,’ Lizzie said. ‘The ones who know.’

Anna moved along the wall, her focus following Lizzie’s finger.

‘What makes you think that?’ Rob had finally found his voice, having been silent since he’d shown them in. ‘They’re just photos. The village isn’t big; you’re bound to see the same faces cropping up again and again. It doesn’t mean anything. And neither does that one.’ He nodded his head towards the photo Lizzie and Anna were now standing in front of.

‘That’s the women from the Mapledon Meeting.’ The voice, loud and sudden, made Anna start. She turned as Nell entered the room.

‘Yes, so I see,’ Anna managed.

‘Why are you so interested in these?’ Nell closed the door behind her.

‘I love looking at old photographs – they can tell you so much,’ Anna said.

Nell pursed her lips. ‘They do say a picture can tell a thousand words, but I’m not sure I agree. You can’t tell everything, can you? People hide themselves, even if in plain sight. I mean, you can’t see the evil lurking in him, for example, can you? Not from this photo.’ Nell pointed to the May Day one they’d been looking at before she came in.

‘Maybe because there’s no evil to see.’ Lizzie spoke so quietly her voice was barely audible.

Nell huffed. ‘You would say that.’

Anna felt the atmosphere shift and butted in quickly before things could get heated. She was interested in the women in the photo and wanted to find out more.

‘This photo,’ she said. ‘It’s dated Thursday, 1st June 1989. You must’ve had a million meetings; why was this one taken?’ Anna noted that the women standing at the forefront of the picture – Tina, Muriel, Nell – seemed to be ‘in charge’. It was as though they were the most important.

Nell shrugged. ‘No idea. Probably one of the few meetings everyone was present at or something, or maybe it was an anniversary – however many years since we first began them. I can’t remember.’ Nell stepped back. ‘Anyway, I need Rob back in the shop. I’ve left it unattended.’

‘Maybe Rob can go back in and you stay here for a bit?’ Lizzie asked suddenly.

Nell bristled. ‘I haven’t got time for this nonsense.’

‘There’s something in Tina’s expression that’s unsettling, don’t you think?’ Lizzie said, ignoring Nell’s comment. ‘What did you discuss at these meetings, Nell?’