‘It was over. But that’s only because you left for university. If you’d stayed here we’d still be together. And this is a sign you should have. This is a gift from the universe.’ She sat upright. ‘You have to stay with me, Matt. You can’t abandon me. What will people think? What will your parents think? Your sister?’

‘When are you going to tell your mum and dad?’

‘When the time is right.’

‘And what would we say in the meantime? About me coming back at weekends?’

She shrugged. ‘That we got back together.’

‘I need – I need to think,’ he said.

‘OK,’ she replied. ‘But you know what you have to do, Matt.’

Saturday, 7 March 2020, 10.00 p.m.

Matt

Tessa put her hand on his elbow. ‘You have tea?’ she said.

‘In the kitchen,’ Matt replied. Mike was sitting by Annabelle; she looked pale and ill. He didn’t feel much better himself, but he had to keep moving, keep thinking this through, keep trying to find the answer.

Although up to now there were no answers.

‘Where in the kitchen?’ Tessa asked.

‘The cupboard above the kettle. You know where the tea is.’

‘Come with me,’ she said, and caught his eye. She walked out of the living room and he followed her into the kitchen.

‘What is it?’ he said.

‘There is another possibility,’ she said. ‘You didn’t mention it, so I wanted to add it to the list.’

‘What do you mean, “another possibility”?’

‘For who this could be.’

Matt studied his sister. He knew the expression on her face. It was the one she got when she was about to say something that might be unpopular. ‘We needed to be alone for you to tell me?’

‘It might be better.’

‘What are you getting at, Tess?’

‘It’s possible there’s someone else,’ she said.

‘Someone else?’ There was no time for this cryptic bullshit. ‘I don’t get it. Just say it.’

‘Another man,’ Tessa said. ‘Someone who’s in love with Annabelle.’

‘We went through that. There’s no one we know. It could be a fan, but other than that there’s no one.’

‘No one you know. Annabelle might know them.’

It took a moment for him to understand what she was suggesting. No wonder she had looked uncomfortable.

‘You think she’s having an affair?’

‘No, I don’t. I’m only saying that it’s a possible explanation, and you shouldn’t rule it out. Maybe it was a fling, and the guy became obsessed. Or she flirted with someone and they took it to mean something it didn’t. It happens, Matt.’

‘No,’ he said. ‘She wouldn’t do that.’

‘I agree. But it’s worth considering.’

‘In any case, she’d have said. Our kids’ lives are at risk!’

‘She might be hoping there’s another way to solve it. One that doesn’t involve you finding out.’