The churchyard was eerily quiet as Louisa walked in first through the gate at the top entrance. Melissa’s car was parked as close as she could get it. The nearest houses were far enough away that even if someone looked out of their window, they shouldn’t draw too much attention – the streetlamps had gone off, so it would be difficult to make anything out with clarity. As it was two in the morning, Louisa hoped that would afford them the luck they needed in order to carry this out undisturbed.

The church itself was illuminated on one side, the floodlight casting an orangey glow. Once they passed by this side of the church to get to the prepared plot, they would be in relative darkness. Louisa’s phone battery was on its last bar, so they wouldn’t have the torchlight for long. They had to work fast.

Louisa pulled at the plastic sheeting over the open grave, while Melissa did the same to the sheet covering the pile of excavated earth. Giving a desperate look to Melissa, Louisa took a deep breath then lowered herself to the ground. Sitting with her legs dangling over the edge of the hole, the reality of what they were about to do hit her.

‘I can’t do it. Melissa, this is mad – stupid. We have to think of something else,’ she whispered.

‘This is the best plan there is. Don’t overthink it, just do it,’ she hissed, giving Louisa a nudge with her knee.

‘Hey, don’t! I’ll do it in my own time.’

‘Time is a luxury we don’t have. Jump.’

Pain reverberated up her ankles into her calves as she hit the ground hard. But she was in the grave now – there was no going back. She just hoped she could get out again.

Louisa turned and looked up at Melissa. ‘If we are both in here digging, how will we manage to climb out?’

‘We’ll have to take it in turns. Once we’ve dug more earth out, I think we’d struggle to get out if one of us wasn’t up here to help. And if we’re both found in here when the sun comes up … well. That’s the end, isn’t it.’

‘Okay. Pass me the spade – I’ll use that first and then we can swap, and you use the shovel to get rid of the loose earth.’

‘Don’t forget – put your back into it,’ Melissa said as she lowered the spade down. Louisa grimaced, snatching it from her and beginning to dig.

They’d swapped several times before deciding they’d displaced enough extra earth to cover Oliver’s body and still leave the grave looking as deep as when they’d started.