‘In it, she admits to having an affair,’ said Steph with even more care. She saw Harry’s chest swell as he took in a deep breath and then it gradually deflated.

He ran his hand through his hair. ‘Is there anything else I should know?’

‘Maybe I should give you the details to access it,’ said Steph. She picked up the rucksack Wendy had brought back from Conmere and wrote out the details on a piece of paper from the notebook, before handing it to Harry.

‘Did she say anything about my mother on it?’ he asked, taking the paper and giving it a cursory look before folding it in half and tucking it into the pocket of his jeans.

‘Oh, no,’ said Steph, surprised at Harry’s question. ‘No, she didn’t. It was more about what Dominic was up to.’

‘The cocaine, right?’

‘Right.’

‘I swear to you, Steph, I wasn’t involved in that. I didn’t even know it was going on. I knew Owen had a problem, but I didn’t for one minute suspect Dominic was the supplier. God, what a tangled web of lies and deceit. What a fucked-up family I have.’

‘You’re not alone,’ said Steph. ‘It’s a long story but apparently my dad, the one who I adored and who was my superhero, turns out was a bit of a phoney on the superhero front. He drove for your dad.’

‘I do know that. Dominic told me the other day.’

‘Did you know Dominic told my mum to make sure the verdict on Elizabeth’s death was misadventure and if she didn’t something would happen to me?’

‘I can’t believe what I’m hearing.’

‘She did it to protect me. That’s why she shunned me. Not because she couldn’t bear the sight of me, but because she loved me and wanted me as far away as possible, somewhere Dominic couldn’t touch me.’

‘It’s like some sort of nightmare.’ Harry dragged his hands down his face. ‘I can’t believe I’m going to ask this, but … did your mum know the truth about what happened to Elizabeth, that it was my mum?’ He almost choked on his words.

‘She never fully investigated,’ said Steph softly. ‘But that doesn’t mean she didn’t suspect something, and that in itself makes her guilty of not carrying out her duty as a police officer.’

‘Did my mum tell you what happened? Did she actually say she killed Elizabeth?’ Steph looked down at the floor. She couldn’t meet his gaze. It was just too painful. Harry swore under his breath. ‘She did, didn’t she? She told you because she thought it was safe to. She thought you weren’t going to live, so she told you the truth.’

Abruptly, Harry broke contact with Steph, and then took another step away, putting distance between them.