I crunch my way across the gravel driveway, ring the doorbell and wait. No one comes immediately, so I ring again and use the door knocker for good measure. Finally, I’m rewarded by the sound of footsteps from inside growing louder. Through the opaque glass beside the wooden door, I see an inner door opening. There’s a rattling sound, and then the front door opens. A woman roughly my age, wearing sweatpants with her hair pulled up in a messy bun, peers through a gap in the door – she has the chain pulled across.

‘Hello?’ she says sharply, with no pretence at friendliness.

‘Hi, I’m so sorry to disturb you,’ I say in what my mum would have described as a ‘telephone voice’. ‘I wonder if you can help?’

She doesn’t reply. Just stares at me impatiently.

I’m not sure I’m going to get anything useful out of her, but I plough on anyway. ‘It’s a bit awkward, but I’ve got these new neighbours – Shaun and Kate Morris – and I understand they used to live next door to you.’ I nod in the direction of The Ridings.

The woman’s expression grows darker and I’m nervous that she’s about to slam the door in my face. ‘The thing is,’ I continue, ‘I heard that Shaun Morris just got out of prison and I wondered if you were able to tell me if I should be at all worried about him. It’s just, I have young children and—’

‘Sorry, I can’t help you,’ she says tersely, and closes the door.

I stand there for a moment as the rain patters against my umbrella, wondering if she can’t help me because she’s friendly with them, or because she’s scared of them. Or maybe it’s because she kept to herself and didn’t know them at all. Reluctantly, I walk away and decide to try the neighbours on the other side of The Ridings. As I reach the pavement and start walking, I notice an older lady opposite pulling her wheelie bin back inside her driveway. I catch her eye and give a little smile, which she returns.

‘You’ll get clamped if you park there,’ she says in a not-too-unfriendly tone.

‘Thanks for the warning. I won’t be here long.’

‘The wardens are quick off the mark around here.’

‘Oh no, really?’ I glance up and down the road, but I can’t spot anyone. I absolutely can’t risk getting clamped. ‘I don’t suppose… do you mind if I have a quick word?’

‘A word? Sounds ominous.’ She peers at me from under the hood of her navy raincoat.

‘Not really.’ I cross over the road. Since I’ve been here, not one vehicle has driven down the street. ‘It’s peaceful down here, isn’t it?’