‘So what changed?’ I say impatiently. ‘How did it come out?’

‘Well, apparently the vicar decided to grow a pair,’ he says. ‘According to Val, the woman who does the cleaning up at the vicarage, Isobel and the vicar got into a huge argument the other day, just before Isobel brought you to the pub, and she called him all sorts of terrible things. So bad, Val said she couldn’t bring herself to repeat them.’

I think back to Isobel’s dishevelled appearance that day, her eyes puffy from crying.

‘Anyway, they had another big row last night,’ continues Jimmy. ‘Isobel stormed off and the vicar must have thought “enough is enough”. He went down to the station and told this lot everything. Val’s son Dave is the desk sergeant. He rang Val as soon as he came off duty this afternoon and, well, you know what small villages are like, soon everyone knew.’

He lowers his voice to recount the last bit, aware that police officer Dave might get into trouble for his slack mouth.

‘So there we are,’ he says, shrugging. ‘Apparently she’s confessed it to the police now too.’

‘Yes,’ I say, irritated by the brightness of his voice. To him and Val and Dave and the rest of them this is just another bit of juicy gossip, something to chat about at the bar over a pint of Black Sheep and a bag of pork scratchings, but Isobel’s lies led to the ruination of an innocent young girl’s life.

‘Could you take me back now, please?’ I say, turning to the officer.

He nods and gets to his feet.

‘I’m sorry, Jimmy,’ I say, getting up from my seat. ‘I need to go now. You understand?’

‘Of course,’ he says, smiling. ‘Like I said, I just wanted to check how you were. I know we’ve only just met but I like you, Lisa. I care about you. I just wish you’d told me what was happening. I’m sure there’s more going on than they’re saying in the papers. I would have listened.’

Beside me, the officer clears his throat. Time to go.

‘Maybe,’ I say, walking to the door. ‘Anyway, thanks for coming, Jimmy. I appreciate it. But I do need to go now.’

He nods his head, and as the officer escorts me out I wonder how long it will take for my words to be relayed across the village.

I’m grateful for the silence when I return to the cell. The past few hours have been so full of voices and questions and noise that it’s been impossible to think clearly. Now, sitting on this hard bed in another prison cell hundreds of miles from home, I can finally allow myself to return to the night that brought me here.

I’d taken Joe swimming at a new leisure centre that had opened up in Barnet. We’d had such fun that I’d lost track of time so when we eventually got back to the house Mark was home from work. As I pulled into the drive I saw him standing in the doorway, the light from the hallway illuminating his tall, skinny frame. All the exhilaration I’d felt from swimming evaporated as I turned off the engine and heard his voice through the passenger window.