‘You’re being ridiculous, Bree. You sound like a spoilt child. Just give me my keys back!’ Franny snatched towards Bree, who pulled away her hand and raised her arm, dangling the keys high in the air. Franny lunged towards them, and as she did so, Bree took a step back, but she stumbled. Her arms began to flail, her face paling as she tried but failed to reach for the banister, unable to stop herself from falling backwards down the open staircase. She screamed Franny’s name as she fell, but Franny was frozen to the spot. In shock she couldn’t move, let alone answer.

There was a loud thump and a bang, then nothing but silence.

Horrified, Franny stared down the stairs at Bree’s body lying sprawled and broken, her arms twisted, her legs bent, her eyes staring wide open. Then snapping herself out of the trance, Franny ran down the stairs, kneeling by Bree, speaking quietly. ‘Bree? Bree, honey? Bree, wake up, darlin’. It’s okay, you’ve just had a nasty fall. Bree?’ There was no response and desperately, Franny put her ear against Bree’s chest before feeling for a pulse. Nothing. Gently, she lifted Bree’s head up, but it lolled back like a broken doll’s. ‘Bree, come on! Come on! Don’t do this to me. Please, baby, wake up.’

As Franny spoke, she looked at her own hands. They were covered in blood. Scrambling away from Bree’s body, she pressed herself against the wall, breathing heavily, wiping her hands on the carpet in the small downstairs hallway of the maisonette.

In shock, Franny closed her eyes, but the image of Bree was still there in her mind. Hearing Mia begin to cry, she opened them, but going to stand up, a sense of nausea engulfed her. She swallowed hard, trying to steady herself, then took a deep breath before trying to get up again.

Mia’s cry got louder before it turned into a scream. Forcing herself to get up, Franny unsteadily began to walk up the stairs. Speaking more to herself than Mia, she said, ‘It’s okay, it’s okay, I’m here. It’s going to be all right.’

Scooping Mia up, Franny gently bounced her up and down. She walked past the top of the stairs, looking down, hoping that somehow Bree’s body wouldn’t be there. Somehow the events of the last ten minutes hadn’t happened.

She glanced around, her eyes darting wildly. She had to pull herself together. She would be no good to herself let alone Mia if she crumbled, and besides, she was a Doyle and being weak wasn’t the way she’d been brought up. There was nothing she could do for Bree now, but she could still help Mia.