I smiled back. I was genuinely happy in that moment. Full of anticipation of good things ahead. I remember the moment well, as there weren’t many good ones afterwards.

Rachel

Rachel

Alex took my early-morning bombshell with a strange calm.

‘I see,’ he said after I had told him all about Casey Adams. ‘I guessed there was something you weren’t telling me.’

‘Do you remember the case?’

‘Um . . . vaguely, I think. I wouldn’t have recognised you.’

I had changed a lot. My face had thinned out, my hair was different, no longer long or streaked blonde. These days, I never wore anything short or tight or revealing. Trying to be safe, but also because you can’t go through something like that and come out the same person.

‘You know I didn’t do it,’ I said. ‘I was exonerated.’

‘Right.’

This was so odd, his flat calm. ‘Don’t you – you don’t have anything you want to ask?’

‘I don’t know, Rachel. Sorry – Casey. I don’t know if I can call you that. I’m sure you’ve been asked everything there is to ask. You have no idea who killed them?’

‘I used to think someone must have got into the house, some stranger, but . . . some people say it must have been Abby. You know, she was very unhappy.’

‘But it couldn’t have been her, I thought?’ He saw my look of confusion. ‘I’m starting to remember a bit.’

‘Yeah. They said she was probably killed before D-David.’ Even now, I couldn’t say his name without tripping up. ‘Listen, I’ve driven myself mad trying to solve it. I had five years in prison to think about it. All I know is, I didn’t do it. And now, with Anna . . .’ When I said her name, his face convulsed. I realised what I was telling him was that, even though I was innocent, Anna was possibly dead because of me. My past. ‘I’m so sorry, Alex. I can’t think what’s happened. But someone has tracked me down. And me finding her body – well, I don’t know if it’s a coincidence. It seems too crazy.’

He nodded slowly. ‘The little girl who died . . . she was five? Sam’s age?’

‘Yes. I cared for her. She was – she wasn’t the easiest child. Things weren’t right in that family. But I did my best for her.’