‘What are you talking about?’

‘I’m getting out of here,’ he said. ‘I’m leaving.’

‘You can’t,’ she told him. ‘You’re on bail. You have to stay at your current address, it’s the law.’

He looked up and down the road, as if expecting a police car to pull up at any moment. Karin had no idea where he would go; he probably didn’t either.

‘I made a mistake. I tried to help Becky’s brother, I thought I was doing the right thing, but he was using me. Michelle didn’t deserve that. It’s this place, this town. I can’t think here, Karin, I have to get away.’

‘I really wouldn’t do it, not with everything that’s happening. The police told me Paul has been arrested, he… took photos of the girl who went missing. He’s probably going to be charged.’ But Simon looked adamant, and she asked, ‘Where will you go?’

‘Somewhere quiet, somewhere nobody will recognize me. Overseas, maybe.’ He shook his head. ‘I’m not coming back.’

‘They’ll find you, they’ll bring you back. You’ll go to prison for breaking the terms of the bail. And then you won’t be able to go anywhere. They’ll lock you up, Simon.’

He frowned at the pavement. A group of pupils walked past, looking at them curiously. ‘Hello, miss!’

‘We can’t talk here.’ She was worried for Simon’s state of mind. If he went to prison, if he was jailed, she knew it would break him. She remembered his fevered writhing on the floor of Jerry Swann’s cellar, remembered how sick he had been in confinement. She had to talk him out of running. ‘Let’s go to—’

He held up his hands to stop her. ‘I’ve been thinking about it a lot and I’ve made my decision. I need to go. I did a bad thing to Michelle and I can’t forgive myself. I can’t stay here, I need to get my head straight.’

‘Please,’ she begged. ‘Don’t run away. Even if what you did was wrong, you did it for what you believed were the best of reasons, and I think even Michelle will understand that. Becky’s brother, that Jim – he was using you, Simon, manipulating you. He’s an angry man who has always blamed us for what happened to Becky.’

‘You’re not going to change my mind. We won’t meet again.’

She felt helpless. ‘You know, every year when we all get back together, I think that’s it, it’s the last time, I don’t want to see any of you ever again. Every year I vow never to do it again and I always do. And now look, you’re making the decision for me.’

He gave her a big hug. It was the first time they had physically touched for maybe twenty-six years.