I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, knowing I was about to share something with Anna that I’d never properly explained before. When you’re at rock bottom and your self-esteem is long gone, it does work. Men like him, they wear you down until you’ll believe anything negative they say about you. When they hurt you or steal from you or treat you like shit, it’s your fault because you didn’t listen to them, or you didn’t look at them the right way, or give them enough attention, or tell them what you were doing for every minute of the day. Men like Mike, they have a way of making you believe it’s only what you deserve for being such a terrible human being.

Anna looked shocked, and I realised I’d never really talked to her about the way Mike had ground me down over the years. When I first got out of the relationship, I couldn’t speak about it, because I was too ashamed of myself for allowing it to get that bad, for not being stronger or smarter or whatever else I thought I hadn’t been.

The next couple of minutes dragged, the silence from the hallway strangely ominous. A few moments later I heard the door to the staircase bang. Anna and I moved to the front window, where we saw Mike leave the building and stumble across the pavement. He stepped back and looked up at the window, obviously expecting us to be there, then gave us a sneer and a sarcastic wave and sauntered off up the road.

I need to tell Singh about him, don’t I? I asked Anna. She nodded and I sighed, then sent Singh another text asking him to come round in the morning.

When we’d calmed down enough to go to bed, I checked several times that the door was locked, and took the heaviest object I could find, a glass vase, and put it on my bedside table. We’d changed the locks when Mike left three years ago, but I wasn’t taking any chances.

Eight hours before the murder

Where are we? What is this place? Courtney asked, looking around at the small building.

It’s the cricket pavilion, Bradley replied.

Courtney pulled a face. Not exactly romantic, is it?

Someone would notice if we’d broken into one of the other cabins, though, he pointed out. Rooting in his bag, he pulled out a blanket that he’d brought with him and laid it on the ground, stepping back to admire his handi-work. His girlfriend rolled her eyes.

What? It’s the best I could do.