‘You were scared, in shock, and no wonder. A lot of mistakes were made that night, and in the investigation, and I’m very sorry about that.’

‘It’s not your fault.’

‘That pastry hit the spot.’ Sasha pushed the empty plate away and twisted a serviette around her sticky fingers. ‘Lydia said she believed Jerry Swann had come back, and Michelle mentioned the same thing to me. Is that what you believe, Karin, that Jerry has come back from the dead?’

Karin smiled thinly. ‘Maybe it’s not Jerry who’s come back.’

‘You mean Becky?’ Sasha couldn’t tell if she was joking. ‘Why would she do such a thing if she were alive?’

‘Maybe she’s angry with us because we escaped and she… was caught by Jerry. I wouldn’t blame her.’

All these years later and Karin was still nurturing her survivor’s guilt, thought Sasha, and probably always would. ‘I’m sure she would have been relieved to know you were safe. What was she like?’

Karin’s eyes lit up. ‘She was my best friend in all the world. I had a lot to thank her for. I wasn’t a very confident person, my home life was a mess, both my parents were alcoholics, my dad had left home, and I had difficulty forming relationships with people, particularly kids of my own age. Her friendship was literally the best thing ever to happen to me. I clung to her like she was driftwood on the ocean. And her parents were very kind, too, they treated me like a daughter. When things were bad at home, I often slept over at her house.’ She smiled. ‘I remember snuggling down into the covers in her bed and imagining that her room, her home, all of it was mine; that her happy family was my family. So I lost Becky – but I also felt like I had lost more, I had lost a lifeline out of my own unhappy childhood.’

She dragged her bottom lip under her top teeth, momentarily scraping all the colour from it. ‘Bex wasn’t a saint, she could be maddening, she always had to get her own way, always had to be the centre of attention, but she was my love. The way she died was… sickening. I wonder all the time what she would have done with her life. A lot more than the rest of us, that’s for sure. Becky would have had it all, no question about it. The perfect family, the perfect home, the perfect career.’

‘Michelle’s very successful.’

‘She tries to convince everyone that she has it all, but Michelle’s as fragile as the rest of us… survivors. None of us… me, Simon, Paul, Michelle, Lydia… none of us are what you would call balanced individuals.’

Sasha nodded. ‘And is there a Significant Other in your life, Karin?’

‘Not even close.’ Karin shrugged. ‘I’ve never been interested.’