Dean smooths her hair aside and kisses her gently on the lips. He looks into her eyes, his fingers tangling in the golden strands. ‘I’m driving the girls to school now, and I’ll pick them up tonight and take them to Mary’s for dinner. You just relax, okay? Maybe work from home today if you’re not feeling well—it’s not like you haven’t put in the hours.’

‘I’ll see,’ Oli murmurs.

Mary is Isabelle’s mother. Oli’s met her twice, and both times were incredibly awkward. Oli has no interest in going to her house for dinner but doesn’t like not being invited either. The thought of being compared to Isabelle by her mother is unbearable, although Oli assumes at some point she’ll have to get used to it. After spending the past two Christmases interstate with her other daughters, Mary is planning to stay in Melbourne this year.

Dean’s irises glow golden-brown as he bends to kiss her on the forehead. ‘Love you.’ He straightens. Smiles.

‘Same,’ Oli says.

His footsteps trail down the hall, then the stairs. His muffled voice calls out, ‘Amy! Kate!’

There’s the buzz of their responses, a flurry of domestic sounds. The slight vibration of the garage door opening and closing, followed by the low rumble of Dean’s car.

Oli lies in the dark for a few minutes, her head spinning with snippets from her old articles, the long-forgotten case details dusted off and fresh in her mind. She’d forgotten the strangeness of the girls’ friendship, all of the loose threads leading nowhere. She wonders whether any evidence from the scene suggested Nicole was pregnant. She’s never heard a whisper of it, but it’s something the cops might have kept quiet. She could ask Rusty—or, even better, she could pitch it to Bowman, see if he bites.

Her mind jumps to Isabelle’s dresses, the beautiful shoes. She shouldn’t have gone through her things like that, but now all she wants to do is spend the day rummaging in the other boxes. Sifting through every single detail about the life that Isabelle and Dean had together. But it’s not healthy, and Oli knows all too well what can happen when someone goes digging, finds things they shouldn’t.

Her phone bleats, forcing her mind back to the case.

A text from Cooper: Alex still hasn’t read my message, but let’s meet anyway? I’d really like your help with the podcast. Have you read my interview notes yet?

The kid is nothing if not persistent. Doesn’t he realise there might not be a podcast without Alex?

Oli is mid eye roll when TJ texts her. O’Brien’s wife topped herself.