‘You think you’re so clever, don’t you? So clever with your plans and your acting and, like, pretending to be Dad online? Well you’re not.’

Alice came further into the room, her face streaked with tears. She seemed to see my injury for the first time, the carpet around me stained dark with blood.

‘She shot you,’ she said.

‘Why will people believe me, Alice?’

Beth swung the shotgun back towards me.

‘Shut up.’

Alice said: ‘Because of the recording.’

Mel looked at her, blankly.

‘What recording?’

‘The recording I just made on your phone. And yours, Mum.’

Beth was frowning, spots of colour in her cheeks. The shotgun wavered slightly away from me as she turned towards her daughter.

‘What are you talking about, sweetie?’

‘Did you think you’re the only one who can buy an app and install it on someone else’s phone? Did you think I’d never find it when you put it on my phone, to spy on me? You think you’re the only one who can listen in to a private conversation? Have you checked your phones recently, either of you?’

Mel picked up Beth’s phone from the dressing table, unlocked it, scrolled through a list.

‘SysAdminTrack,’ she said in a small voice. ‘It’s on here.’

Alice said: ‘Check the recordings.’

‘What have you done, Alice?’ Beth said, her voice rising with anger. ‘What have you done, girl?’

‘I didn’t believe you, Mum. I didn’t believe Dad would just leave. I didn’t believe that he’d only send texts and not just call me. I’ve seen the way you used to look at him when you thought I wasn’t looking. Like you wished he was . . .’ She dissolved into a fresh bout of tears.

‘Bee?’ Mel said, urgency in her voice.

‘What?’

‘There’s a nine-minute recording on my phone, from just now.’

‘Delete it,’ Beth said.

‘Doesn’t matter if you do,’ Alice said, holding out her mobile. ‘I’ve already emailed the file to my phone.’

‘Delete it,’ Beth said again. ‘Delete it from both.’

‘No!’ Alice shouted back, her voice cracking again. ‘I’m going to forward it to the police instead.’

Beth turned towards her daughter, the shotgun swinging around all the way this time.

‘Don’t do that, sweetie. You’ll regret it. We’ll all regret it.’

‘People need to know what you did to Dad.’

‘I won’t ask you again.’

‘I’m sending it to the policeman, Mum, I found his card in your handbag, with his email address on it. DCI Marcus Naylor.’ She held the phone up, her thumb poised over the screen. ‘The email is right here, ready to go.’

Beth took a step towards her daughter, still training the gun on her. I felt a stab of fear at the thought of Alice getting hurt. She was just a child. Smart, loyal, brave, resourceful, for sure – but still a child.