After a long pause, Aaron said, ‘I feel bad about leaving her.’ There was a catch in his voice.

‘She wouldn’t mind. She’d be pleased. She’d be proud of you for doing the right thing.’

‘I guess.’

‘We’ll meet you back at the car, okay? You take as long as you want.’

‘Nah. I’m finished here. Let’s go.’

Together we returned to where Warren had parked. There was now only one other vehicle in sight—a white SUV with an open hatch. The two women from the grave were loading buckets and secateurs into it.

As I drew closer, I recognised the older woman. Kate Canning. The younger one must be Phoebe—or perhaps Sarah. They’d both had red hair.

When I caught her eye, Kate turned on her heel and slammed the hatch shut.

‘Hey, Feeble,’ said Aaron, his voice harsh and flat. ‘I’m fucking off now, so you won’t have me to blame for your boyfriend’s skunk anymore. Just so you know.’

Phoebe reddened. She’d blossomed into a beautiful girl, tall and willowy.

‘Get in,’ Kate told her, then turned to Aaron. ‘I’ll have you charged with intimidation, you little shit.’

‘Oh, no, you won’t.’ I spoke before I could stop myself. One look at Kate had triggered all the old feelings of fear and anger and betrayal. ‘You’ll leave him the hell alone.’

Kate’s lip curled. ‘I wondered when you were going to sneak into town,’ she said. ‘Someone told me you were poking your nose in. Trying to feel like a teacher again, are you?’

‘No. Just acting like a human being.’ I’d last seen Kate on the steps of the Bathurst courthouse, and the memory still rankled. She’d spat at my feet after losing her case against me. ‘But you wouldn’t know anything about that. I mean, your best friend was a lying, murderous bitch—I guess birds of a feather flock together, right? She probably told you all about what she did.’

Kate’s eyes flashed. ‘That’s not true!’ she spluttered.

‘True or not, you still owe me an apology.’ Feeling Warren’s hand on my arm, I took a deep, calming breath and continued in more even tones, ‘You helped Joyce destroy my reputation.’

‘Because you assaulted my daughter!’

‘Bullshit.’ I was conscious of the two kids, who were staring at me in astonishment. ‘You knew it was bullshit and you went after me anyway—thanks to your good pal Joyce. But you know what? I can do without your apology. I’m fine. Better than you, I’m guessing. Now that everyone knows you enabled a killer, things must be pretty tough around here, eh?’