We watched Mother sob. She rolled onto her side on the kitchen floor still hiding her face in her hands. I felt a strange desire to comfort her and resisted it. I looked at the clock on the wall. It was midnight. Where were the police? Where was Harold? Why wasn’t he back yet?

As if reading my thoughts, Dot muttered, ‘Where is he? What’s taking him so long?’

She turned to look at the front door and Mother launched herself at the gun, ripping it out of Dot’s grasp and pulling Dot onto her hands and knees. She smashed Dot around the face with the barrel of the gun. I heard a crunch as Dot’s jaw broke and she toppled onto her side, unconscious.

With a scream I threw myself at Mother, raising the rolling pin over my head in both hands. But she was too quick. She hit my tummy with the gun, winding me. I staggered to the side and she tore the rolling pin out of my hands and tossed it to the ground. She wrapped her arm around my neck, still gripping the gun in her free hand and forced me out of the kitchen.

‘Open it,’ she snapped when we reached the front door. She tightened her grip on my neck and I opened the door, gasping for breath.

Mother’s car was parked on the drive where the black car had been earlier. She bundled me into the passenger seat, pointing the gun at me as she hurried around to the driver’s side and got in behind the wheel.

‘Strap in,’ she said.

I did as she said. She stabbed a button and the doors clicked.

‘Sit on your hands and don’t move. If you move, Mirabelle, I will drive back here and kill that old lady.’

She put the gun on her lap, strapped herself in and started the engine.

Silent tears rolled down my cheeks as the tyres crunched over the drive and we reversed away from Greenfield House. Away from hope.

Chapter 34

We drove in silence, and I bit my lip, forced myself to stop crying and huddled over to the door, curling my body as far away from hers as possible.