There’s a long pause, and then: “Ever wish you could rewind time, Emma?”

“Every day.”

The phone goes dead in my hand and I sit still for the longest time, gazing at the floor, then twist round in my chair and move the computer mouse with my hand. The screen flickers to life and, almost as though on autopilot, I move the cursor to the start button and then to the list of recent documents. I scroll down the list looking for the last document I was working on, before realising with a start that it’s not at the top of the list – it’s mid-way down. Above it are at least half a dozen documents that I didn’t open, including “JaneHughes CV.doc”, “JaneHughesAppraisal.doc”, and “StaffContactList.doc”. Angharad wasn’t just checking her email: she was checking up on me.

Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Five Years Earlier

“Al, Al, wake up!” I shake her shoulder gently. My lips are millimetres from her ear. Her hair smells of bonfire, cigarettes and beer. Less than half a metre away, Daisy is lying on her back, snoring softly. The girls’ dormitory is littered with comatose bodies, some of them still in their clothes, their sleeping bags bundled up as makeshift pillows under their heads.

“Al.” I nudge her again. She moans softly and swipes at my hand then rolls over.

There’s a bang, somewhere in the depths of the house.

“Al!” I put my hand over her mouth and pinch the fleshy skin on the back of her arm. “Al, you need to wake up.”

She wakes with a start and grabs at my hands.

“It’s just me. It’s Emma.” I take my hand away from her mouth. “I need to talk to you.”

“Emma?” Her voice is groggy with sleep.

“Sssh!” I press a finger to my lips as she sits up, and then I point towards the door to the shower block.

She understands and rises slowly, climbing out of her sleeping bag and grabbing a hoody from the pile of clothes draped over her backpack, and then she makes her way towards the door. I follow, picking my way through slumbering women. When we reach the entrance to the shower block, Al pauses. I point towards the cubicle at the far end of the block and she nods.

“What the fuck’s going on?” she whispers as I shut the cubicle door behind us. “I thought you were trying to suffocate me.” She pulls her hoody over her head.

“We need to get out of here.”

“Why?” She glances towards a gap in the corrugated roof. There’s a smudge of scarlet light beyond it. The sun is coming up. In less than half an hour it will be daylight and we’ll stand no chance.

“They killed Frank.”

“What the fu—”

I press a hand over her mouth for the second time. “Ssh. Sssh. Promise me you won’t shout again.”