“You’ll be okay now, Emma. Just stick this on.” Sally hands me a plaster then follows Raj across the kitchen to the pantry. They both disappear inside and shut the door.

My knee aches as I rise to my feet but it doesn’t buckle and I’m able to hobble my way out of the kitchen and into the hallway. It’s empty, the man and woman and their dustpans and brushes long gone. The photographs Al swept onto the floor when she ran out of Isaac’s talk have been replaced on the table, in their frames but minus their glass. The statue of the Hindu goddess Kali is still in its usual place, and the only tangible sign of her destruction is a small space between two wooden candlesticks where a white china skull previously sat.

The door to Isaac’s study is ajar. The rumble of voices drifts towards me.

“Everything’s under control,” Isaac is saying. “No one’s going anywhere.”

“But what about Al?” It’s a female voice this time, possibly Cera’s. “She’s really volatile.”

“It’s fine. Johan’s going to deal with her.”

“But what if Paula talks to her? You know she’s been threatening to tell the new girls all about—”

“I told you, it’s under control. She’ll be fine after her detox.”

“That’s what you said about Ruth.”

“Paula won’t refuse. And besides …” Isaac lowers his voice to a whisper and I can’t make out a word.

I take a step closer to the door. I know who Paula is. Cera introduced us to her when she gave us the guided tour. She’s the red-haired girl who looks after the goats. She was swearing like a trooper while trying to fix some broken fencing with an old ladder. She barely made eye contact when Cera introduced us. And that’s the second time someone’s mentioned this Ruth person in as many days. Raj said yesterday that she’d gone to Pokhara to get supplies with Gabe – whoever that is.

I take another step towards the study door. A heavy hand on my shoulder yanks me back.

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Present Day

“Here, drink this.” Will hands me a cup of steaming tea then sits beside me on the sofa. “I’ve added lots of sugar.”

“Thank you.”

It’s been two hours since the police released me from Joan’s kitchen. Sheila was with them. She took one look at me then bundled me into her car and drove me home. She spent the first five minutes of the journey bollocking me for being so irresponsible, only softening when I burst into tears. She stayed with me until Will turned up, then she gave me a brusque hug and said, “You have to put your own safety before that of the animals, Jane. For those who love you, if for no one else.”

That made me cry again.