Tara’s apartment, she remembered, was on the top floor. It was quiet up here, the sounds of the city silenced by concrete walls and triple-glazed glass. As she walked towards Tara’s apartment at the end of the corridor, her footsteps sounded too loud, echoing against the hard edges of the building.

She was halfway down the corridor when she felt it: a crawling sensation at the back of her neck. The sudden realisation that something was wrong. A series of images flashed through her mind, too vivid and bright. Nick’s body motionless on the grey and white shingle beach; his eyes, open and staring. Tara’s face, pale and haunted later that same morning.

Every part of Clodagh’s body wanted to turn around. To step back into the lift and get as far away as she could from whatever lay on the other side of that door. Yet somehow, she kept moving forward. Gradually getting closer, until she was standing directly outside Tara’s front door, pressing the doorbell then banging on the door with her fist when Tara didn’t answer.

‘Tara! Are you there? It’s me, Clodagh. Open the door.’

‘Can I help you?’

The door to the apartment next door opened, and a woman’s face peered out. Heavy-framed glasses, long blonde hair and a surprised expression on her face that Clodagh suspected was caused by extensive cosmetic surgery.

‘I’m looking for Tara.’

The woman somehow managed to frown without a single line appearing on her face.

‘Were you the person who was here earlier?’

‘No.’ Clodagh shook her head. ‘I’ve just got here.’

‘So you’re not here because of the row?’

The feeling of dread intensified.

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ she said.

The woman looked her up and down, as if assessing how much she could trust her. Clodagh guessed the woman was in her early fifties, although the surgery made it hard to say exactly how old she was.

‘I’ve been wondering what to do,’ she said. ‘Someone was in with her earlier. There was a fair bit of shouting. I came out and knocked on her door, asked if she was okay and she said she was fine. Told me to go away, so that’s what I did. The walls in these apartments are pretty thick. You don’t normally hear any sound from your neighbours. But the shouting was pretty intense, you know?’

She spoke with a whispering, little girl voice that grated Clodagh’s nerves.

‘You didn’t try to help her?’ Clodagh said.

‘I waited outside for a bit, then I knocked on the door again, told her to call if she needed me. Again, she said she was okay so I went away.’

‘How long ago was this?’

‘A couple of hours ago?’ She shrugged. ‘Maybe more than that. It’s not as I’ve been watching the clock all afternoon.’