The flare in Binah’s eyes fizzled out, a sympathetic smile resting over her face that made Lottie feel like a failure.

‘Don’t beat yourself up, Lottie,’ she said, closing the notebook. ‘It’s a start. You can’t expect to solve this overnight, especially not after what you’ve been through with Jamie.’ Binah put a reassuring hand on Lottie’s thigh, and it made her jump. ‘Why don’t we go back to yours and think about something else for a while? Sometimes thinking about a problem too much can make –’

‘No,’ Lottie barked, the word jumping out of her like a hiccup she couldn’t stop. ‘I can’t stop. I’ll just keep at it myself.’

The expression that passed over Binah’s face was unlike her usual self. The rosy glow of the hanging star lights made her small frame into a golden statue, a deity that needed to be respected and would not tolerate displeasure.

‘You can’t keep doing this to me,’ Binah suddenly said, taking a tone Lottie had never heard from her before. She puffed out a long breath from her nose, the sound full of frustration. Binah shuffled over until she was directly opposite Lottie, the two of them cross-legged and sloping into each other like the sea and the shoreline. ‘If that’s really how you feel, and you insist on sacrificing yourself for everyone over and over …’ She huffed, her round cheeks gleaming. ‘Then what do you want me to do? What do you expect me to say?’

Lottie had never seen Binah talk to anyone like this, and she supposed it was because Binah wasn’t used to people ignoring her advice. It wasn’t until her glasses started steaming up that Lottie realized it wasn’t just frustration. Binah was upset.

‘I keep trying to help you, Lottie. I’m always helping you, and not because it’s an exciting mystery, but because we’re friends, and I hate seeing people lost. My whole life all I’ve wanted is to know everything so I can help everyone.’ Behind her, one of the fairy lights began to flicker, but she didn’t look away, eyes large in her round glasses, holding her gaze like a magnet. ‘This is hard for me; I’m not used to getting things wrong.’ There was barely a crack in her voice, yet it was there nonetheless, as small yet painful as a pin prick. ‘Jamie is my friend too.’

Swallowing her shame, Lottie looked around the room, at the piles of papers and theories, none of it getting them any closer to bringing Jamie back and stopping Claude. It dawned on her that her attempts to take everything on herself and solve these clues at any cost hadn’t helped anyone at all. In fact, she was reminding herself of Ellie.

‘I’m so sorry.’