‘The girl?’ says Jimmy, drumming his fingers on the table again. ‘She confessed to killing her father and ended up in some place for young offenders. After they took her away, they shut up that house and no one ever set foot in it again until you turned up a few days ago. Mind, some of the kids from the village go up there for a dare on Halloween to scare themselves shitless. And there’ve been “sightings” of the madman over the years too. Some say he haunts the crag above the house, others say they’ve seen his shadow in the window of the house. It’s all nonsense though, daft small-village banter designed to put the frighteners on people. Nothing for you to worry about.’

He looks at me as though expecting me to respond but I’m distracted by the sound of a woman screaming. I jump, staring wildly around the room, but nobody else seems to be hearing it. It’s then I realize that the screaming is coming from inside my head. I’ve returned to that room, that dark place. Beside me, Jimmy starts to tell me about the party he’s planning for New Year’s Eve but his voice is drowned out by hers and I’m back there, lying on the bed, hearing her scream over and over again.

‘I’m sorry, I have to go,’ I say, getting up from my seat. ‘It’s past Joe’s bedtime.’

‘Are you okay, Lisa?’ says Jimmy. ‘What is it?’

I ignore him and weave my way round the table, almost knocking it over in my haste to escape.

‘Joe,’ I call over the mush of Christmas songs that seems to have got steadily louder. ‘Come on, baby, time to go home.’

I see his blond head on the other side of the room. He’s still sitting by the fire with Isobel beside him. I call his name again as I approach and they both turn to face me. I know I’m drawing attention to myself but I can’t help it.

‘Playing with Tom,’ he says with a frown. ‘Don’t want to go.’

He gestures to the large ginger cat that is reclined on his lap. Its yellow eyes are half closed and I can hear it purring. The purring seems to grow louder as I approach until it becomes unbearable, like an attack of tinnitus.

‘Joe, we have to say bye to Tom now,’ I say, my eyes strangely drawn to the fire. ‘It’s way past your bedtime.’

Isobel gets to her feet but as she does I see a glimmer of flame behind her, hear the crackle of the logs as the fire consumes them, and suddenly I see myself, two years earlier, lying in that strange room while the woman I thought was my friend tells me about the house by the lake, the safe place that is mine if I need it.

My body starts to tremble. I hear Isobel asking me if I’m all right, if I want a glass of water, but I don’t answer. Instead I grab Joe from the stool, upending the sleeping cat, who cries with contempt as it hits the ground.