The train was close now and Alan Munro had staggered into its path, his eyes wild, not of this world.

She tried to get to her feet to reach him, but she couldn’t move quickly enough.

The video caught the moment of impact, but the full gruesome sight of Munro’s body breaking, rupturing, and bursting was concealed by the camera angle. Harri remembered it though and it was a moment she would carry with her forever.

The video did prove, contrary to the assertions of Munro’s family and the incident investigators, that Harri had not pushed Munro into the path of the train. It proved what she’d said all along: that she’d tried to save him and his death had been a terrible accident of his own making.

On screen, Harri saw her past self look directly at the camera. She’d caught sight of the recording light after the train had thundered past. It was screeching to a halt some distance down the track.

‘Hey!’ she yelled. ‘Wait—’

The camera zoomed out and started backing away, then the screen went black.

By the time Harri had dragged herself back up the embankment and pushed her way through the growing crowd of bystanders and first responders, and run round the corner to reach the railway bridge, the camera operator was long gone.

She looked at the tiny USB drive in awe. This was the footage she’d spent months trying to find. She hadn’t seen the camera operator’s face; the lights on the railway bridge had been out, but she’d launched a public appeal, posted endlessly to social media, and had even given an interview to the local paper. This video was shot by the person Powell and the disciplinary committee had refused to believe existed. They concluded she’d used excessive force in beating Munro in the street. They hadn’t accepted her argument her actions were proportionate to the danger, in light of how high he’d been. They said the footage shot by the men who’d stopped in their cars indicated she’d lost control of her emotions. They argued there were reasonable grounds to believe she was motivated to avenge her partner’s humiliating beating and that she pushed Munro into the path of the train during a struggle.

This was the video of the night her life had been ruined by a false claim of manslaughter, the allegation that had set the wheels in motion for her dismissal. She’d never faced criminal charges because the evidence against her wasn’t sufficient for conviction beyond reasonable doubt, but there was enough smoke for a vindictive Detective Chief Inspector to ensure the investigation went against her. That’s exactly what Powell did, and the panel recommended her dismissal.

Only Sabih kept his faith with her, perhaps feeling guilty that if he’d stood up to Munro, she wouldn’t have had to. This was the incident that had set her on her road to nowhere.

Harri pulled the USB drive from the port and studied it with a growing sense of excitement. This tiny thing would change everything. She could prove her innocence. She could get her job back.