‘I don’t want Tom to hear me. He thinks I’m asleep.’

‘Is everything OK?’

Alice paused. ‘I don’t know.’

‘What’s happened?’

‘He’s – I think he’s cracking up.’

‘Alice,’ Kay said. ‘Are you safe?’

‘I think so. For now.’

‘OK. Why do you think he’s cracking up?’

‘Last night was rough,’ Alice said. ‘Jo was colicky and fussy and neither of us got much sleep. I grabbed some at around one, but I was woken up by Jo crying really loudly. I went downstairs and she was in her basket, screaming at the top of her lungs, and Tom was just sitting there, his hands over his ears, shaking his head and staring into space.’

‘Jesus. Is Jo OK?’

‘She is. He didn’t know I’d seen him – and I didn’t want to surprise him – so I crept back upstairs, then came down noisily. When I went into the living room he’d picked her up. She was still wailing, but at least he was trying to soothe her.’

‘What did you do?’

‘I asked him what was going on, and he said he’d tried everything but she wouldn’t stop crying. I asked if he’d been holding her the whole time, and he nodded. He lied to me, Kay. And he looked awful. He had this crazy, desperate expression in his eyes. It was like looking at an animal.’

‘Are you sure you’re safe?’

‘He was better this morning. But he’s been suffering from anxiety, too. I’m really worried about him, Kay, and about how he’s treating Jo. I feel almost like he hates her. Like he could hurt her.’

‘I think you need to get out of there,’ Kay said. ‘You and Jo.’

‘That might be the final straw for him,’ Alice said. ‘I love him, Kay. I can’t abandon him. It might tip him over the edge.’

‘Safety first,’ Kay said. ‘You know—’

She was interrupted by a loud shout from downstairs.

‘Alice!’ Tom shouted. ‘Alice!’

‘What the hell was that?’ Kay said.

‘It’s Tom,’ Alice said. ‘He’s shouting for me. Something’s happened. I have to go.’

‘I’m coming over,’ Kay said. ‘Right now.’

‘That’s not necessary,’ Alice said. ‘Really—’

‘I don’t care. I’m on my way.’

The phone went dead, and Alice swung her legs off the bed.

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘What is it?’

‘Come downstairs now!’ Tom called. ‘Now!’

Alice walked quickly downstairs.

‘What is it?’ she said. ‘Why are you shouting?’

He held out the envelope. ‘There’s another letter,’ he said. ‘It just came. I looked outside but nobody’s there.’ He leaned against the wall, his breath short. ‘He was here, Alice. He was in our house.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘The letter was on the kitchen counter.’ He started shouting. ‘It was inside our house, Alice. Inside!’

‘Put it down,’ she said. ‘You shouldn’t touch it.’