‘Yes, she is, and it’s only made her more determined to carry on.’

‘Good for her. I’ll go to her next rally,’ said Amber. ‘If I’d been there, I would have knocked the blocks off those thugs.’ No one in the room doubted her.

A nurse came in and apologised for the interruption but Mr Wallis needed his sleep.

‘I do not! I need my family.’

The nurse smiled. ‘Ten more minutes.’

They chatted for a few minutes more, all thankful for the opportunity to see Ted awake and lucid.

‘My brain’s obviously made of rubber.’

After saying their goodbyes, and insisting he rest – his eyes were closing anyway – they walked to the car park together and arranged to meet back at the hospital tomorrow.

Then Johnny drove Kelly to Eden House.

Chapter 57

As Mrs Ormond parked her brand-new Audi in the driveway, she noticed that Neil’s car was there too. He usually spent Saturday afternoons at the golf club, at the bar, swapping stories of birdies and bogeys with his tiresome friends. Things tended to go on way into the evening and invariably he’d end up getting a cab home. So to see his car was odd. She opened the boot and carried her shopping to the front door, locking the car behind her.

Once inside, she cursed her husband for leaving a window open, because the house was bloody freezing. It was annoying; at this time of year, it was so lovely to walk into a warm house. She wondered if the back door was open, because it really was very cold.

‘Neil!’ she called. There was no reply, so she left the shopping in the hallway, took her shoes off and went upstairs to check.

She went from room to room in the sprawling six-bedroom home that they rattled about in these days. She was looking forward to the children coming home for Christmas. There were no windows open, so it must be downstairs.

She tutted. ‘Neil!’ She shouted his name one more time and gave up. She figured he must have gone outside for something and forgotten to close the door. Perhaps he was gardening. They’d neglected the weeding at the end of the season, and some plants still needed cutting back, even though the first frost had descended weeks ago now.

She heard a sound and stopped. She was at the top of the staircase and couldn’t quite decide what it was, then the penny dropped and she knew that next door’s dog had probably got through the fence. She heard it again: it was a whimper and a little howl.

Bless her. She must be hungry. She went downstairs and picked up the shopping, taking it through to the utility room: the back entrance to the kitchen.

‘Raffles?’

The dog woofed and panted and she heard its claws scratching on the tiled floor.

‘I knew it was you! I’ve got a treat for you!’