We didn’t look at each other for a moment, both absorbing the enormity of this prospect. My phone buzzed, and I couldn’t help smiling when I saw Max’s name on the screen.

Fancy going out for something to eat tonight?

On a school night? I teased.

I just wanted to see you, he replied.

I thought about it before I answered. The last few months had been difficult, negotiating my relationship with Max whilst trying to be there for Anna. There were times when I’d turned him down because I didn’t want to leave her, but she seemed to be doing so much better recently. The thought of seeing Max put me on edge slightly, though. I hadn’t told him about Mike yet, and I knew we really needed to discuss my history, but I didn’t feel ready.

Do you mind if I go out tonight? I asked Anna.

She rolled her eyes. Paige, you’re thirty-one. You don’t need to ask my permission.

I’m not asking permission, I’m asking if you’ll be okay on your own.

I’ll be fine, Anna replied. I’m also an adult, if you hadn’t noticed. Go out. See your boyfriend, she told me. I don’t want to be the one who comes between you.

I replied to Max and he told me he’d pick me up at six.

Why didn’t anyone tell the police about Jane Villiers being thrown out? I asked Anna once I’d made my arrangements for later. It doesn’t make any sense. It’s not the sort of thing you can keep covered up for long, and when they find out they’re bound to think it’s suspicious.

The whole thing makes the school look pretty bad, though, doesn’t it? she reasoned. I don’t blame them for wanting to push anything negative under the carpet and pretend it didn’t happen, when they’re faced with a disappearing student and a murdered teacher.

I wasn’t convinced. But surely they’ll look worse when the police find out they tried to hide it?

Are you going to call Singh to tell him? she asked, but I shook my head.

I’ll see him tomorrow. Maybe by then I will have been able to make some sense of it all.

Max was punctual, as usual. I often teased him about how accurate he was with timings, and he put it down to working in a school and living his life by a strict timetable.