‘Can’t be that hard. It’s got instructions, and I can read you know. I’m also a fantastic driver, so should be simples.’ She smiled. ‘Right. Water.’ Tiff placed the drone on the worktop and went back into the garage. Louisa took some steadying breaths.

As soon as Tiff came back with the water, plus the box for the drone, Louisa dived in with her question.

‘Why was Oliver at yours on Monday?’

Tiff’s face blanched. She turned her back on Louisa, filling the kettle with the water from the bottle. She was buying time, Louisa assumed.

‘It was nothing really, Lou,’ she said, still facing away.

‘If it was nothing, why did you push me away – telling me you were too busy?’

She gave a nervous giggle. ‘I was busy. He popped in not long after you texted me, and I told him the same as I told you. But he was there, then, so I said I could give him five minutes.’

‘What did he want? How did he know where you lived? Why cover up the fact he was with you when I turned up?’ Louisa had so many questions they were almost tripping over themselves on her tongue.

‘Hold on, hold on. There’s no rush now, is there?’ Tiff busied herself with pulling two mugs from the cupboard, then rummaging around for the coffee jar and a spoon.

‘Stop stalling, and tell me what the hell is going on, will you?’ Louisa strode across to Tiff, snatching the jar and spoon from her and quickly making the coffees to stop Tiff dragging it out any longer.

Tiff stood back, a look of shock on her face. ‘I’m not stalling, Lou,’ she said, indignation oozing from her tone.

‘It seems that way to me. So, carry on. Tell me, why did Oliver show up at your house?’

‘Just to talk, he said. He’d been out walking on the common, early, as he hasn’t been able to sleep since Melissa went missing. He saw and recognised my car in the driveway as he passed by.’

‘You don’t think that’s a bit stalkerish?’

‘He’s your friend—’

‘No, Tiff. He’s some guy I used to know a lifetime ago when I was at college.’

Some guy who covered up the terrible thing I did.

‘Well, a lifetime ago or not, he seems to really want to help you.’

‘Help me? What do you mean?’

‘You know, help you with your lost memories.’ Tiff took a sip of her coffee, but her eyes remained trained on Louisa’s.

She’d never told Tiff about her dissociative amnesia. Not even hinted that she’d experienced a traumatic event during her college years. The fact Oliver had been talking about that with Tiff worried Louisa, and her mind raced as she jumped to conclusions about what else he might have disclosed.