‘Honey,’ April said, warmly, ‘I am positive he will come to his senses and realise what he’s ruined. But that doesn’t mean you have to take him back. Anyone who can do that to you – well, I’d be wondering if he was the right man to spend the rest of my life with.’

‘Too right.’ I said it so rebelliously, but I was still feeling lacerated by what you’d done, Niall. Whatever you felt when Dina abandoned you, what you’ve put me through has been infinitely worse. Trust me.

April sighed. ‘He’s not the only man out there, you know. Hey, you remember that Italian bambino from Hannah’s wedding? My friend Chez? He’s still single.’

‘Oh … I think it might be a little soon, but thanks.’ I didn’t tell her that the idea of seeing any other man was crazy right then, when I could close my eyes and remember someone pressing down on me. And beyond that, that I might be about to go to jail for a crime I was certain I hadn’t committed.

And then, just after that, I remembered that I needed to talk seriously to April. About that other time in the club. And I felt my stomach drop further.

‘Why don’t I come over?’ she offered. She sounded enthusiastic. As if there was nothing better she could think of doing than cheering me up.

I couldn’t ask her about that lie just then. I just couldn’t.

32

The DCI was on a call when Hanson returned to the office, so she parked her tray of Costa coffee and settled herself at her desk. She began looking through the spreadsheet once again. She identified another address that might be of interest a few moments later. A knife identical to their murder weapon had been sent to a firm of mortgage advisers based in Winchester. The addressee was a Mr Marc Ruskin. She started looking to see if any of their suspects had anything to do with this firm, and the careful, methodical work was the perfect antidote to everything else she was feeling.

She’d only meant to fill a little time, but ended up so absorbed in it that she didn’t notice the DCI coming to find her until he said her name from a few feet away.

‘Sorry,’ he said, as she started. ‘Didn’t mean to break your concentration. How’s it going?’

‘It’s going OK, I think,’ she said. ‘There are a couple of addresses on the list from Steel and Silver that look promising. I’m just wading through any connections to the first one. And I got you coffee.’ She gestured to a cardboard tray from Costa. ‘I hope it’s still warm. Flat white. Is that all right?’