She’d asked me to stay away from the shelter now that my true identity had been exposed, but I couldn’t just sit there in that horrible flat. It was dark now, the town emptied out except for a few hardy smokers outside the pubs. Rain sweeping in from the dark water of the lake. It took me just a few minutes to walk to Marilyn’s, a rambling Victorian house on the lake shore, inherited from her parents and now probably worth a few million or so. Her dogs, sensing my approach, started barking as I swung open her gate and went up the gravel drive. As I rang the bell, the noise reached a crescendo. I could hear Marilyn inside, shushing them. ‘Come on now, quieten down.’ I recognised Brandy’s yelp among them and felt a pang. I hadn’t seen her in days now – it was as if I’d already lost her.

Marilyn opened the door, silhouetted against her hall light, dogs weaving about her legs. She was wearing her Happy Paws Animal Shelter T-shirt, liberally stained with various spatters, her greying hair coming down from a ponytail.

‘Oh! Do be quiet, everyone, it’s just Rachel, she’s a friend.’

But was I? I shoved my hands deep in my pockets. It couldn’t be her doing all this. Could it? Marilyn, who couldn’t pass a dog without patting it, who’d never turn an animal away? But someone had leaked my name to the press. Someone had broken into my house, spooked me with my old name, taken my scarf and planted it. Killed Anna. Was it the same person behind it all?

‘How long have you known?’ I said. ‘Who I was?’

Horror filled her eyes. Marilyn was no liar. Reluctantly, she said, ‘You’d better come in.’

That was something, then. She knew I had once been in prison for murder, and she would still let me in her house. It was getting cold out, and I could see Brandy padding into the hallway, black nose twitching. I nodded and stepped inside, falling on the dog, stroking her silky ears. ‘Hello, sweetheart, are you OK?’ Of course she was fine. This was the best place for her, a garden to roam in, other dogs to play with. But I missed her so.

‘She’s been quite happy,’ said Marilyn. I stood up.

‘So. Are you going to answer me? You knew, didn’t you?’

She sighed. ‘I suppose I’ve always known. When you first took the job, you seemed a little familiar, and then, later on, there was a documentary about the case. You know I like to watch true crime.’