The woman in the story wanted a baby, consulted with a fairy, got some magic barleycorn, grew a flower that turned into a girl. She used a tulip leaf for a boat and … I yawned, my jaws, my whole face, oh …

Oliver yawned too. Sophie yawned, clambered over me, got back into her bed.

‘OK, goodnight, kids.’ I stood, slotted the book onto the shelf. ‘Love you more than anything.’

I wandered into the kitchen, closed the door, winced at the shattered oven door, rang.

‘It’s a fake,’ Biddy said. ‘I sent it to Kelly. The university doesn’t use those codes. And there’s a typo in one of the course names – those letters are generated automatically from templates, so they wouldn’t have mistakes.’

20

20

Friday morning. Josh was still a sticking point. I’d been to his house twice since starting the investigation, each time when I was fairly certain Zac would be out. I’d sat with him in his living room, tried to perk him up.

On both occasions I’d gone to his bathroom, stuck my head into Zac’s room – two boxes, tea chests – my heart beating quickly. I could sneak in, have a quick look. My kids – there might be something incriminating in the boxes or somewhere else in the room. I needed to know, just needed to.

But Josh’s mental state meant he might inadvertently give the game away if he knew about Zac too soon.

I’d phoned in sick at work, yes, sorry, I’ll get the presentation notes finished off from my deathbed, and, excuse me, a fake cough, yes, just give me a few hours.

I stood in the back garden in my boxers, sweating, the leaves and branches swaying gently. The kids were at school, Sarah was at uni. Most of the plan rested on Josh, and timing was crucial. Biddy knew the drill, was on stand-by. This was it.

I texted Zac: Hey man! You free this evening? Fancy meeting for a beer?

Heartbeat.

Three dots: I’m meant to be meeting Rhiannon later but … sure. Where?

Me: The Green at eight sharp?

Three dots: See you there!

Kudos.

To Sarah: It’s on. Can you confirm with Kyle he can be here?? X

We hadn’t seen Kyle in months – he was definitely due a babysitting turn provided he was sober. The kids missed him. What kind of uncle was he anyway?

From Sarah: Will do x

Did we have any smokes? I went into the house, pulled open drawers in search of the emergency stash, nothing, looked on top of the fridge. A cigarette, one of Zac’s, bent out of shape – that’d do. I took it to the garden, lit it, inhaled.

To Josh: Can I call you?

I tilted my face to the sky, exhaled, took the brunt of the sun.

From Josh: I’ll call you. Five minutes?