“Hide the book,” Jess told Tara. She felt calm now. It was Joel, that was part of it, but it wasn’t just about love: it was hatred too. They’d treated her like shit for so long, like she was worthless. Now she’d pay them back. “The Bible. Don’t let ’em find it. Or my baby. Tell ’em I took ’em with me.”

“What do you mean?”

“There’s a back door, right?”

Tara nodded.

“Show us.”

Keira moved the rifle barrel from face to face. Smoke still trickled from the muzzle and breech, clear and sulphur-sharp in the clear winter air. She was still grinning, and Liz heard her murmur: “Eeny, meeny, miney...”

“She’s in there,” said one of the shopkeepers from the High Street, pointing to the Assemblies church. His face was the colour of cottage cheese, which was no surprise to Liz; he’d barred Keira from his shop too.

“Paul,” said Liz. “Frank.”

But as the boys sprinted towards the church, other running footsteps sounded, coming down the street. Liz looked past the crowd to see Ellie Cheetham running towards them, the Caddick bitch and Ernie Stasiolek beside her. Keira was already aiming the rifle as Liz raised the shotgun to fire.

There was a garden behind the Assemblies church, with weeping willows, rockery, benches and a pond. Jess had sat out here on a couple of occasions when she’d been allowed to come to Barsall with the rest of the family and been able to slip away. It was a pretty place, even in winter.

She’d prayed here, which was, according to Pastor Matt, what the place was for: prayer, meditation, guidance. She’d tried that when she was carrying Baby Joel, but if God’d had any answers, they’d been too quiet for her to hear.

She crossed the garden now at a fast clip, to the wrought-iron gate at the far end. Thankfully, it wasn’t locked: just a bolt you pulled back. Jess slipped out, shut the gate behind her and shot the bolt back into place. Maybe they wouldn’t realise she’d come this way.

Except they would, of course. Where else could she have gone? But that wasn’t the point: the point was to give Baby Joel a chance – the Bible, too, to keep that away from them, but Baby Joel most of all.

Jess heard gunfire.

Noel saw Paul and Frank Harper run to the church’s front door and heard it crash open; there were shouts from downstairs. Milly. Should he move, go and deal with that threat? But now Ellie ran into view, Laura and Ernie behind her. She dived, they all did, and the rifle fired again.

Liz Harper opened fire with her shotgun, then ducked back, cursing, as Laura Caddick fired back at her. She ducked behind the snowplough, but was on the side exposed to Noel.