Her eyes cloud. ‘No. Not at all.’

‘You get him away from your rival and suddenly he’s cosy with your little sister.’

She scowls. ‘Only because I wouldn’t talk to him.’

I press my linked hands against my mouth and look at her over the weave of my fingers. She avoids my gaze.

‘Afterwards, I felt so bad about everything, you know. I wanted to forget the whole thing, not mention it. Izzy was dead, so what did it matter how Nick was feeling? But it did matter, and I was ashamed, but too proud to admit it or apologize. Nick looked awful at the funeral, like he hadn’t slept or eaten properly since. We had to acknowledge each other, but there was no real communication.’

She closes her eyes. I wait patiently, feeling desperately sorry for her, or for that screwed-up teenager at least. She behaved badly, but it all feels so familiar. Usually we can leave our self-obsessed adolescence behind us, but not Anna. She’s locked in Taisie’s world because of her sister. She’ll never escape that summer.

Anna lowers her hands to the table. ‘He didn’t come back to school in September, and after the fiasco with Tim’s restaurant, we moved away. Dad and Mum said it was because they needed a fresh start, somewhere they wouldn’t be reminded of Izzy, but really it was because we had to sell up. I didn’t hear any more about Nick, and our parents had fallen out big-time, so there was no contact. It hasn’t been easy, but I’ve tried my best to move on.’

It’s cold in her kitchen. I rub my arms, and shiver. ‘Are you asking me to believe that it’s a coincidence that Alex contacted Nick the day after you confronted him in the street?’

‘I didn’t confront him.’

I shrug. ‘According to Cassie, Evan described it as an intense conversation.’

‘That was his perception, then. He was wrong.’

‘Really?’

She doesn’t elaborate. She doesn’t need to. It’s Evan’s word against hers.

‘Did you and Alex plan this?’

She frowns. ‘Don’t be silly.’

The cogs of my mind are turning slowly. ‘But you understand why I might wonder, don’t you? Alex was looking to heal by getting in touch with the other people who were there that summer. If he managed to get hold of Nick’s number, I doubt he’d have had much trouble finding you.’

‘Maybe not. But he didn’t.’

I watch her closely. ‘How do you feel, knowing that he’s been in touch with Nick, talking about the past?’

She looks me straight in the eye. ‘I feel sorry for both of them.’

‘Was there something odd about Izzy’s death? Did Nick know something?’