Nick is giving evidence. We’re waiting for him to come back so he can celebrate the end of a long, drawn-out hearing. He was determined to gain closure for the family of the missing girl, Chloe Jenkins. He struggled with what to do. He’s a detective; his job is to bring justice. But after that night last year, he became someone who covered up three murders in order to protect his family. True justice wasn’t something he could deliver in this case.

He wrestled with his conscience – how could he close Chloe’s case without implicating his father? At the time, none of us could see how it was possible without dragging us all into it. It was hard, but as a family we worked through it. Helped Nick to see the most he could offer Chloe’s family was an ending. Using the bracelet that he said had been sent anonymously – plus other links Nick had uncovered – it gave them reason to believe she was dead, not coming back. That way, they could stop looking over their shoulders, searching the face of every woman the age she’d be, forever wondering if it was their Chloe. Nick promised he’d keep looking, though – for Chloe’s body. Using what we know, Nick feels there’s a strong possibility of finding the remains.

Barb had no proof of Bern’s death – no death certificate could be issued without a dead body. After Tim found out what Bern had done and confronted him, the ensuing argument had been terrifying, and Barb was afraid Bern was going to hurt Tim to shut him up. She’d taken a cricket bat and forced herself between him and Bern, yelling to Tim to leave, get out of the house and away from his evil father. Tim ran, and kept running. Barb was left to deal with the fallout alone. She’d attacked Bern, who tried to get away from her by running up the stairs, all the while she was demanding answers from him. When he wasn’t forthcoming, she’d lost her temper, cornering him on the landing, smacking him over the head with the bat. He was dazed, but not knocked out, so she’d raised the bat for a second time, and this, she later believed had been the fatal blow.

Bern stumbled, falling backwards down the stairs. Blood spattered the up the wall, splashing across the picture frames hanging there. She reckoned he was dead before he hit the hallway floor. The trauma to his head didn’t correspond to the fall – she knew police would suspect it was an unlawful killing. She could say it was self-defence; she believed there was enough proof to ensure he would be found guilty of the abduction and murder of Chloe Jenkins.