‘We could go in and give statements too,’ I said. ‘Tell the police what we saw on Thursday night. Would that help, do you think?’

Beth shrugged.

‘It might.’

Mel gave me a sharp look.

‘He hasn’t actually done anything yet, apart from make a mess of his lounge.’

‘Not yet,’ I said. ‘But he’s made threats. What if he comes here when I’m not around? What if it’s just you and Wills, and I’m not here to protect you?’

‘He wouldn’t do that.’

‘He’s out there somewhere with a shotgun, Mel,’ I said. ‘We need to do the smart thing. And Beth needs to protect Alice.’

‘He wouldn’t hurt us,’ Beth said quietly.

‘That’s what battered wives have been saying since the day marriage was invented,’ I said.

She glared at me. ‘Is that what I am now? A battered wife?’

‘It doesn’t need to be physical abuse to be abuse. Rolling in drunk at midnight, shouting about killing people? I think that qualifies.’

Beth gave a tiny nod of acknowledgement.

‘Perhaps.’

Mel said: ‘You’re right, Joe. We should talk to the police. Would you like us to do that, Bee?’

Beth gave another tiny nod.

‘Would you?’

‘Of course,’ I said. ‘Is there a number we can ring?’

She took a card out of her purse. Kilburn Police Station, duty desk, non-emergency only. The words PC Khan were written on the back in Beth’s smooth, flowing handwriting.

‘Can we keep this?’

‘Yes, I’ve got another.’

Beth said: ‘Where’s Alice now?’

‘Gone to her friend Lily’s house. She didn’t want to be at home after Thursday night.’

‘How’s she doing?’

‘She’s frightened, and worried for her dad at the same time. Trying not to show it.’

‘We can cancel babysitting tonight, if you want. It’s no big deal.’

‘No, it’s fine. I think she’d probably prefer to be out of the house, to be honest.’

‘You could both stay over tonight, if you don’t want to go home,’ Mel said.

Beth thought about this for a long moment, then shook her head.

‘I should be there when he gets back.’

‘You shouldn’t feel like you have to dance to his tune all the time. Maybe once in a while he should find himself wondering where you are, instead of the other way around.’

‘Old habits, you know? Hard to break.’ She looked at her watch and stood up. ‘I should go.’

Mel stood up too and hugged her, patting her back.

‘It’s going to be OK. You’ll see.’

‘I just want to get back to normal again. It doesn’t matter what happened the other night.’

‘He’ll see sense soon enough. But you’ve got to ask yourself how long you’re going to let it go on for. How many more times.’

‘I don’t know where I am without him,’ Beth said, eyes downcast. ‘I don’t know what to do on my own.’

Mel said nothing in response. They disengaged from their embrace and we stood as an awkward threesome, me between them, not knowing whether to hug Beth or not. Feeling like a fraud for not telling her the whole truth. We settled for an uncomfortable peck on the cheek, both given and received without much commitment.