‘We’re aware of what you must be thinking, and in a way, we can’t blame you.’ Bannon looked from Jackman to Marie. ‘But you should know that my son has been exonerated of all blame. Far from being able to grieve for his terrible loss, instead he was dragged through the courts and wrongfully convicted of murdering the people he loved most. Then he spent years incarcerated in an institution that no decent man or woman should ever have to set foot in. It devastated our whole family.’

As the father continued speaking, Marie observed the son. Giles Bannon could never have slipped through any top window. Which at least cancelled out any suspicions regarding their recent murders. She had imagined him almost emaciated, with the pallor of someone who’d been a long time imprisoned, but he was much fatter than his photos showed him to be, almost obese. Somewhat cruelly, she thought prison food must have suited him.

‘But now you’re free, and rightly so,’ Ruth said to Giles.

‘Ha! You think so? I’ve been hounded out of my home and reduced to spending my days alone with the blinds closed in a lonely place that I barely know. It doesn’t seem too much like freedom to me.’

Marie had seen those closed blinds. If Giles Bannon was innocent, then life had indeed been cruel to him. She regretted her thought about the prison food.

‘This ordeal,’ Giles continued, ‘has not only destroyed my family and my home, it’s taken its toll on my physical and mental health as well.’ He looked almost beseechingly at Marie. ‘I don’t think I could cope with another inquiry about something I had no part in.’

‘And that’s why we’re here,’ his father said. ‘To ask for reassurance that you will leave Giles alone. I — we — assure you that he has nothing to do with whatever is going on here. We also wanted to tell you that as of this weekend, his mother and I are taking him away for a few weeks. This has been so unfair on him. We considered moving on again, but that feels like admitting we have something to hide. Plus, the property we’ve found is perfect for his needs. Giles will be staying and, hopefully, one day he’ll become a member of the community, with no shadow hanging over him.’ He looked at Ruth. ‘I’ll furnish you with our travel plans and the contact details of where we’re going. I’m sure the media will be covering this dreadful murder, so we’ll return when it’s all over.’