‘Thanks for organising,’ I say. Cain turns the TV up.

‘The sleepy community of Tarawera has seen little action over the years. Locals talk about the campsite at Hot Water Beach being ransacked once, or the occasional boating accident, or the time a squatter had camped out in vacant holiday homes around the lake, but there has been nothing like this. A home invasion, hidden cameras with footage the police can’t locate, a woman handcuffed to her fireplace, then escaping and saving her husband. It’s the stuff of Hollywood movies, not small-town New Zealand.’

I can’t even imagine the feeding frenzy that would come if they found out I’d had a one-night stand with the dead man. That I am pregnant as a result of it. Although it could be Cain’s. I made sure that it was possible, that afternoon I’d climbed on him in his office chair. I made sure the timing was airtight.

The guilt strikes me again, the sort that bends me in half like an uppercut. I cheated, I killed Daniel, and despite how much I justify it in my mind, the feeling won’t go away entirely. Earlier, when I’d taken the rubbish bins down to the curb, the reporters hurled their questions, and one gave me pause.

‘Did you try to resuscitate him, Lina?’

I’m sure many are wondering the same thing: a paramedic shoots someone, what next? Do their healing impulses take over? Do medical oaths override other instincts of self-defence, revenge, justice?

‘Wonder how long this will go on for?’ Cain says now.

‘I’m sure they’ll move on.’

A news story about a water shortage for dairy farms plays next and Cain changes the channel.

‘We’ve had more requests,’ I say, ‘to speak to the media. Sixty Minutes this time.’

Cain exhales. ‘We could do with the money, Lina.’ I think about the investigation into Trent Skelton. The media pursuing interviews from Cain, Axel, the rest of their unit. He doesn’t yet know about the baby; costs will likely go up for us, but I can’t do it. What if I say something wrong? What if they realise I knew Daniel before and the entire story unravels? What if they suspect I planned to kill Daniel, to silence him?

‘I don’t want to talk to the media about it, I know how they twist things,’ I say.

‘Well, just keep the money in mind. It’s there for us if we need it.’

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