“This is lovely,” Jane says, walking toward my window and looking out.

Her new home stares back at us, lit up by the spotlights that could give Zak away any second.

I try to find him in the shadows, but he’s not there. If he does what I told him, he’ll move from window to window, searching for clues, eventually walking straight into Jane’s line of sight. I reach for the curtains, but Jane doesn’t budge.

“I didn’t realize quite how much you could see from here,” she says. “You could spy on us if you wanted to.”

She says it with a smile, but neither of us laugh. Has she noticed me watching? Is everything I’ve seen been an act?

My phone buzzes again, and she says, “You’re popular tonight.”

“It’s just notifications. Nothing important.”

Jane puts both hands on my windowsill and stares out. She can’t possibly know what we’re doing, but I don’t think she trusts me. Every look and every word come with a hidden meaning. She’s one of those people whose eyes tell a different story from their mouth. And, the more time I spend with her, the more I think she’s the one to be scared of.

Chris is hardly there. He’s like a ghost, haunting the edges of rooms like Amy in those photographs. But Jane’s different.

When she turns her back, I quickly check my phone.

You need to see this.

Zak’s found something, and I have to fight to keep everything in check. My heart is beating so fast I’m sure Jane will hear it. My palms are hot and clammy, and I can’t keep still.

I think I see Zak move in the half-light outside my window, but blink and he’s gone.

Jane has turned to look at me. “Are you okay?” she asks but doesn’t wait for an answer. Instead, she goes over and runs her hand over the paint now covering those words: HELP ME.

There’s a creak in the floorboards, and, when I turn, I see Amy in the doorway.

“Tom’s really making it his own,” Jane says, but her daughter doesn’t reply. She looks over my shoulder and, for a moment, I’m terrified she’s seen Zak.

Amy’s eyes change, but she doesn’t say anything. Maybe it’s just the feeling of being in this house. Maybe it’s bringing back the memories I’m so desperate to unlock. Or, perhaps, she feels as uneasy in her mum’s presence as I do.

Jane follows Amy’s eyes to the window, and that’s when I see a shape in the Pearces’ driveway, appearing and vanishing in the dark. Jane steps slowly across my bedroom floor until she can almost touch the glass, and, if Zak moves again, she’ll see him.