‘It’s taken too long, but at least we have some answers now,’ Tina said, her body encased in Pat’s arms.

‘You need to get Eric to talk now, Muriel,’ Pat said.

Anna looked to her mother. She saw an old woman – one who appeared incapable of the actions she’d been accused of tonight. She now hoped that Muriel could give Tina what she was asking for. She’d protected Eric for too long already. She had to give him up now. ‘I assume you’ve got a contact number for Eric, then?’ Anna said.

‘Your dad,’ Muriel corrected.

‘I don’t think he deserves that status, do you?’

‘Yes, love. He does.’

‘After all that, you’re still standing by him? He’s a cold-blooded child killer, Mum.’

‘Do you have a way of getting hold of him, Muriel?’ Tina asked.

Muriel sighed, taking a long time to answer. ‘Yes.’

‘Once she speaks to him, what then? What if he refuses to tell us where Jonie is?’ Anna said. It would be a huge setback now if Eric Fisher couldn’t tell them. And what if Billy was right about it not being long before Eric took his life rather than face up to his crime? They’d never find out and all this would’ve been for nothing.

‘When you talk to him, Muriel,’ Billy said, slowly, ‘you tell him I’m here. Waiting for his answer. And if he doesn’t co-operate, his daughter will “disappear”.’

‘I thought you said you weren’t interested in revenge?’ Anna said, her voice high-pitched. Great that she was the bargaining chip.

‘I’m not. Per se. It wasn’t the reason for me returning to Mapledon. I was only here to visit my wife’s grave, not to stir up trouble or disturb old ghosts,’ Billy said. ‘However, I met Eliza, and a need for her to know the truth overtook me. The situation now, tonight, has … altered things. And needs must.’

‘Fine. I’ll make sure she tells him that.’ Anna wasn’t sure she bought the “I was only here to visit my wife’s grave” line. She knew in her gut there was an ulterior motive. She walked over to her mother and, taking her arm, guided her out of the lounge door, back through the hall and outside. She breathed in the clean air, deeply. Muriel was doing the same. Or she was hyperventilating, Anna wasn’t entirely sure.

‘We’ll be waiting and watching,’ Tina called out after them. ‘Make that call tonight, Muriel!’

Anna and Muriel began the weary walk home. The progress was slow, neither of them seeming to have the energy to walk briskly.

‘The why wasn’t answered, though, was it?’ Anna asked. ‘I mean, why would Dad have killed Jonie?’

‘I don’t suppose we’ll ever know that, Anna.’

‘You must know. Didn’t you ask him at the time? Won’t you ask him now, when you speak to him again?’

‘Can we leave it? For now. I’m done; I just want to be home.’

Anna, too, was drained. It seemed learning the truth was an exhausting experience. She wondered how the others were faring.