‘I remember that batwing jumper,’ Maggie smiled. ‘I never took it off.’

‘Ditto with me and my dungarees.’ Sarah’s eyes were alight as she turned each page. ‘Is that …’ Sarah squinted at an old photograph. ‘Simon Irving?’

‘So it is,’ Maggie replied. The photo had been taken on the first night Slayton held an outdoor cinema screening. Jurassic Park had pulled crowds far and wide. Unlike Sarah and her friends, Irving attended a private school in Benrith, but he sometimes hung out with local teens. ‘Did he ever try it on with you?’ Maggie said, thoughtfully.

‘Once,’ Sarah replied. ‘But I think it was for a bet. You?’

‘Same.’ Maggie recalled the time he’d tried to get her into his car.

‘Knob,’ they said in unison, before laughing aloud. Shaking her head, Maggie turned the page.

‘Look, there’s Elsie. Remember her? Her father found her at the screening and marched her home. Poor thing. I was so embarrassed for her.’

‘I’d forgotten about that …’ Sarah stared at the photo of Elsie, her hair tied up in ringlets and ribbons. ‘I saw her, you know, after I left you yesterday. She’s really struggling with her weight.’

‘We all have our demons,’ Maggie said, quietly.

‘True,’ Sarah agreed. ‘But don’t you think we have more than most? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Slayton is cursed.’

Maggie sipped her wine, comforted by its plummy notes. ‘And yet we’re all still here. I thought you weren’t coming back.’

‘It was David’s idea,’ Sarah said. ‘I was quite happy working in police HQ. But then he was offered the sergeant’s job and said he could get me on his team. I couldn’t turn down the offer of a position in CID.’

The room fell silent as Maggie turned another page. Sarah looked so young next to David in the faded old photographs. She was a shy and nerdy girl, immature for her age. She met Maggie’s eyes.

‘I didn’t know … I’m supposed to be a detective, Maggie, and I had no idea he had a thing for young girls. I would never have married him.’

Sarah’s face was drawn. Her voice dropped as she continued. ‘I thought we had a good life. As good as I could hope for after what happened …’

‘Hey, it’s all in the past now.’ Maggie squeezed her friend’s hand. ‘You weren’t to know. None of us were.’ They sat in silence as the dishwasher swished in the background. It was an old model which barely worked, but the sound of the water was almost hypnotic. Maggie took another large sip of wine.

‘How’s Elliott coping?’ Sarah asked, her composure back.