‘I know she and I didn’t get on very well, but no one deserves this.’

‘Shall we try and arrange a get together, with all the other book club ladies?’ Kim put a cigarette between her lips and lifted the lighter to it with a quivering hand.

‘It might be a good idea,’ Amy added. ‘We can do it here. My place is the most central and easiest for everyone to get to. I’ll start to call round now and ring you back when we have something in place.’

‘OK.’ Kim’s stomach felt empty and she knew it was nothing to do with the fact that she hadn’t eaten breakfast. ‘Sounds like a plan.’

‘Are you OK?’

‘I don’t know, to be honest. It’s a shock, isn’t it?’

‘Certainly is.’ There was another silence. ‘I’ll call you back, OK?’

‘OK. Speak in a bit.’

‘Chat soon,’ Amy said, hanging up the phone and looking around at her dishevelled bedroom.

Amy lived in a Victorian house on Mawson Road, just off Mill Road, a cosmopolitan street full of delis, cafés and restaurants, popular with students and families alike.

She had only recently moved into the house with her husband, Johnny, an architect who often spent time working away in London. She looked down at the small bump and stroked her belly; she was six months pregnant, expecting their first child.

Johnny had been in London for most of the week, overseeing a build for a huge development, and she wished for a moment that he was at home with her. She didn’t know how to take the news of Toni’s death; the two women hadn’t got on very well, due to differing opinions. Suddenly, Amy felt alone and frightened – if Toni could be murdered on Stourbridge Common, surely it could happen to anyone? It didn’t bear thinking about.

Amy got out of bed wearing Johnny’s T-shirt, which she always wore when he was away, and went into the bathroom to splash some water on her face before looking at herself in the mirror. Despite feeling tired, her skin was glowing and she was thankful that the pregnancy had been kind to her so far. Scraping her hair into a messy bun, she drank a glass of water before returning to the comfort of her bed to make the phone calls she was dreading.