‘I could tell she was angry. She was sort of pacing around near the back fence. She climbed onto the bottom of it and looked into the neighbours’ yard, the ones having the party. Then I think she texted someone.’ His eyes go back and forth between his hands and Oli. ‘That’s what it looked like from where I was sitting, but I was probably about ten metres away. And then she …’ His voice wobbles as he draws himself up and squares his shoulders. ‘God,’ he mutters before the words tumble out of his mouth. ‘She went over to the shed in the corner of the yard, and she got Billy out. I could see her standing there in the dark, holding him, and then she,’ Miles emits a soft bleat, his breath coming out in little huffs, ‘she got this weird look in her eyes, then she just threw him. She threw him against the fence.’

Miles scratches at his wrist, his fingers pushing under the metal watchband until he tugs it off with a dramatic flourish and itches the dented skin for so long that Oli has to glance away.

At the next table, the waitress flirts with an older man who looks delighted, his rich laugh reverberating around the room.

Cooper is staring at Miles, stricken.

‘I didn’t do anything,’ Miles says after a moment. ‘I just stayed hidden around the side of the house like a fucking pussy.’

‘Miles, who was Billy?’ Oli hears her voice waver slightly.

‘Evelyn’s rabbit. She bloody loved him. Let him free in her bedroom half the time.’

‘And it died?’ Oli swallows, picturing the scene Miles just described. ‘It died after Nicole threw it at the fence?’

He nods vigorously. ‘The sound, I’d never heard anything like it. Even with the music playing …’ He puffs out his cheeks. ‘Yeah, it died.’

The waitress sidles up to their table. ‘Anyone after anything else?’

‘No, thanks,’ whispers Cooper, and Miles shakes his head vigorously.

‘Righto.’ She clears the cups, walks away.

‘What happened after that?’ Oli asks.

Miles is deflated after his big confession. ‘Nicole didn’t even look at Billy,’ he says flatly. ‘She just went back inside. I remember I started shaking all over. It’s hard to explain, but it was like seeing your mum snort drugs or hit someone. It seemed so out of character and just so totally bizarre. Plus, I was wasted.’ He laughs ruefully. ‘A part of me thought I’d made it up, but when I went back around the house I could see Billy on the ground.’

‘Did you say anything to the others?’