When she reached Luke’s old bedroom she went straight to his filing cabinet which they’d wedged in the corner earlier, two bags of Luke’s clothes balanced on top of it. She rifled through his papers before she came to the manila envelope. When she returned to the living room she slid the pictures out and passed one to Mac.

‘I wonder who she is,’ he said as they both stared down at the stranger’s beautiful face.

‘Must have been someone else he was shagging,’ she replied. ‘I mean, it has to be, don’t you reckon?’

‘I guess, seems a bit young, though—’

They were interrupted by a noise from outside. Clemmy sat up, her hackles raised, a low growl emanating from her throat. Clara’s chest tightened in fear. There it was again, followed by the sound of a car door slamming. ‘What was that?’ she asked, alarmed.

They sat very still and listened, their eyes widening when they heard footsteps crunching on the gravel outside the front door, followed by a loud barrage of knocks. They looked at each other. ‘It’s half past ten,’ Mac said. ‘Who the fuck would be out here at this time?’

There was the sound of a key being put to the lock followed by someone swearing, a voice saying, ‘Mum? Dad? Why’s the door bolted?’

‘It’s Tom!’ Clara said, another jolt of fear shooting through her, while Clemmy continued to growl.

The hammering intensified. ‘Mum? What’s going on? Let me in!’

Fear nestled in Clara’s chest. What was he doing here? Did he know she’d told the police about him? Had he come to hurt Rose and Oliver? When Mac got to his feet, she put a hand out to stop him. ‘Wait,’ she said. ‘What if he—’

‘I can’t leave him out there battering the door in.’

She followed him into the hall and watched as he drew back the bolts. When he opened it, Tom stood looking at them in amazement. ‘Mac? Clara? What the hell are you doing here?’

‘We brought some things of Luke’s up after the fire,’ Clara replied, her heart still pounding in fear.

He nodded distractedly. ‘The fire, yes, my God, are you OK? I couldn’t believe it when I heard—’

‘Yes, yes, I’m fine. Thank you,’ Clara replied. She tried to smile but it died on her lips. Nobody moved.

Tom glanced past them. ‘Where are my parents?’

‘They’ve gone to bed,’ Mac told him. ‘They asked us to stay tonight. They’re actually in a pretty bad way, mate. We don’t want any trouble.’