In her hand lay a small, silver, heart locket on a dainty chain.

And they both knew whose it was.

Neither of them looked at the other.

‘The note might explain,’ Anna whispered.

‘No! Don’t read it!’ Muriel lurched forwards, grappling to take the paper from the table. Anna was quicker.

‘God, Mum! Why? We may as well – and actually we need to. We have to know who had this and why? Not to mention, how?’

Muriel’s face contorted. Tears escaped her screwed-up eyes. Anna’s chest tightened. What the hell was this reaction?

‘Don’t, Anna. It’ll be lies, rubbish. Just like everything else. No good can come—’

‘Of digging up the past. Yeah, I know. You and Nell have been very keen on telling me that. You are both hiding something – don’t think I don’t know. Now, come on. It’s time for the truth to surface.’

Muriel shook her head, tears still spilling down her face.

Was Anna about to find out what Muriel had done? She obviously thought it was all about to come out. That’s why she didn’t want Anna to read the note.

With her eyes watching her mother carefully, Anna unfolded the paper.

SOMEONE HAS TO CONFESS, NOW!

Anna was about to shout, to say how this was a repeat of the note found in the leg. But the words continued.

Anna’s legs weakened. Her arm felt heavy – she dropped her hand to her side, the note falling from it. Muriel slowly bent down to retrieve it. She read it, then reached a hand out to Anna.

‘Darling, I’m sorry.’

Anna stared, open-mouthed. It didn’t make sense. The words were wrong. She must’ve misread them. She snatched the paper from her mother’s hand and looked again.

No. She hadn’t been mistaken. She read the words aloud this time.

‘AND THAT SOMEONE IS YOU, BELLA.’

Chapter Eighty

2019

Lizzie

‘I think you need to go back a few steps. Tell me from the beginning.’

‘You got all night?’ Billy smiled, weakly.

‘I’ve got however long it takes,’ Lizzie said. She took her mobile phone and tapped out a text to Dom. There was no service, as expected, but he’d hopefully get it before he had time to really worry about her. Then she set her phone to record, placing it on the small, square, melamine table in front of them.

Billy closed his eyes, sighing deeply. ‘It’s odd. I’ve kept this inside for thirty years. Almost as long as I was inside. It feels wrong, almost, to speak of it again now. Maybe I should let sleeping dogs lie.’

‘But what good will that do? If you’re innocent, like you say, then someone else is guilty. Why should they get away with it?’

‘I don’t expect you to understand, Eliza.’

‘Can you call me Lizzie, please?’

‘Sure. Seems no one wants to be themselves anymore. Maybe I should change my name too.’

‘I think you should, actually. Anyway, enough stalling. I want to hear your side. I need to know. I realise it must be difficult for you to talk about it all these years later, but it’s important to me to know the truth. Don’t you think I deserve it? And Tina Hayes? That poor woman has been suffering terribly, wondering where her girl is.’