Even as she thought it, she knew she was wrong.

She owed these people everything. Her life. Carrie’s life.

How would she ever be able to move forward from this?

‘I think it’s time, now.’ Eric walked to Anna, giving her shoulder a squeeze. ‘I’m so sorry, my girl. I’ll be back to see you later.’

Eric kissed Muriel on the cheek and walked out of the door. Billy followed.

‘What are you going to do now?’ Anna asked Lizzie.

‘I need to see my husband.’

‘Do you think they’ve found her yet?’

It was three in the morning; the men had been gone for a little over an hour. Muriel, despite being ready to drop earlier and wanting her bed, had been sitting with Anna since everyone had left, her arm wrapped as far around Anna’s body as it would reach.

‘This doesn’t feel real, Mum.’

‘I know, love. I know.’ Muriel stroked Anna’s hair – the way she used to when she needed comforting.

‘But, I’ve been so horrible to you. Said awful things about Dad. All along you’d been keeping quiet to protect me.’

‘Yes. Some of the things you said were hurtful. The way you treat me sometimes is like a kick in the teeth. But it’s my fault. It wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for me. Things could’ve been so different if I hadn’t started the ball rolling. My obsession with getting Billy Cawley out of Mapledon took over everything. I lost sight of all that truly mattered. Because of it all, I lost your father, then you. But it’s your dad who took the brunt of it all, having to go and find her, then dispose of her body. He was broken. Broken because his darling little girl had done something so terrible, broken because he’d covered it up. He never could look you in the eye afterwards. He really did leave because he loved you. I didn’t lie about that, Anna,’ Muriel said, giving Anna’s hand a squeeze.

‘There was no other woman?’

‘No. Never.’

‘Is that why you never took off your wedding ring?’

Muriel looked down at her hands, turning the gold band. ‘I hated what happened, hated the fact he had to leave us. After he left, it became a hideous nightmare – lies upon lies – in order to keep you from realising it’d been you who had killed Jonie Hayes. I spent hours with you, talking about Billy and how he’d abducted Jonie – trying to etch it into your mind, your memory. Nell, too. She’d always been loyal to me. She was the only one who knew it was you we were protecting.’

‘How could she have wanted to help protect me after she found out it was me?’

‘You didn’t mean to kill Jonie – you told us about the fight. It was an accident. Your father and I knew it, and so did Nell. We all saw what Jonie was like. There were lots of things about her that didn’t quite add up – she had a reputation, even at ten – for being nasty. Looking back, we thought she’d shown tendencies of a personality disorder. But Tina and Mark had ignored her behaviour. Nell did have reservations about trying to pin it on Billy. But she really was convinced he was guilty of abusing Eliza – the way Robert had acted after being in the bungalow that time had added to her belief, so she backed me. Always stuck by the story, never wavering. Even tonight.’