‘You’re a bitch, Bella!’ she yelled. ‘And I never liked you, anyway.’ She let go of Bella’s foot. Which gave Bella the perfect opportunity to deliver another kick. Jonie fell back, her head slamming on the ground. Bella hesitated. The anger and frustration that had exploded from her came as a shock, but it was the first time she’d ever got the upper hand on her friend. She stood over Jonie, deciding in that moment she should make the most of it.

‘Good,’ Bella said. ‘I never want to see you again.’

Jonie was making a strange gurgling noise. Bella bent down, close to her head. Over-reacting as usual, she thought, as she took hold of Jonie’s locket necklace and pulled it. The chain broke. ‘You won’t be wanting this anymore, then,’ she said, pocketing the necklace.

Jonie didn’t answer.

‘Hey! I said, you won’t be needing this anymore.’

Jonie didn’t move.

Bella gave her a nudge with her foot. Nothing.

‘Jonie? Stop messing about.’

Bella grabbed Jonie’s face with both hands, shaking it side to side.

Blood trickled from her ear. Jonie was silent.

What had she done? Bella staggered backwards, a sick feeling rising.

She looked around her. No one else was there. No one had seen what had happened.

Bella turned away from Jonie and pushed through the gap in the hedge. She should get help. She had to get an ambulance.

As she emerged from the other side of the bushes, into Blackstone Close, she hesitated. Maybe she should knock on Creepy Cawley’s door. He’d be sure to come running out and then she could tell him to call for help. But as she came to the bungalow, she saw the truck had gone. He wasn’t in.

She had to go home. Her dad would know what to do. She began running. With each pounding footstep, the words: Bella killed Jonie, Bella killed Jonie, chanted in her ears.

Chapter One Hundred and Five

2019

Anna

Friday 19th July

Muriel’s concerned face was the first thing Anna saw hovering above her own when she came to.

‘Anna, love. You gave me a scare, fainting like that.’

Anna sat up. Everyone’s eyes were firmly on her. The last words she’d heard before blackness enveloped her repeated in her head: ‘Anna killed Jonie Hayes. And Eric took the blame for what little Bella Fisher did.’

‘I – I don’t understand,’ she said. ‘How. Why?’ Anna stumbled over the words. For all those years, she’d believed Billy Cawley guilty of murdering Jonie. Moments ago, she’d discovered it was really her father, Eric, who was the child killer. Now, suddenly, they were passing that label on to her. None of it made sense. Even Lizzie, it seemed, was having trouble with this new information.

‘Why didn’t you tell me this before?’ Lizzie’s brow furrowed as she turned to look at Billy. ‘When you were supposedly revealing the whole truth behind everything that went on. Why purposely leave out the fact the real killer was Anna?’