But now thinking back, had it started earlier? She remembered when Chris had been hauled into the university dean’s office for fighting. At the time, she’d dismissed it as normal student behaviour until she’d found out that the other guy had ended up in hospital with a broken arm. Or the time they’d gone on holiday and there was no space left in the business class lounge and the poor guy manning the desk relaying this information had received such an earful security had had to step in.

So perhaps it had always been there but because he had never directed his anger at her, not until a couple of years ago anyway, and never at the boys, it hadn’t registered as a problem. Although occasionally, she had felt a churn in her stomach – a tiny web of worry that had wound its way around her intestine. At those times, she simply upped her efforts to create the perfect home and family. It came easily to her – she’d had years of practice dealing with her own parents, but she perhaps knew on some level she couldn’t sustain it and her breakdown had certainly triggered something in her husband. It wasn’t the major upheavals in life, such as when Joshua went off the rails, but more the smaller everyday stresses – the dishwasher hadn’t been unloaded or his shirt wasn’t ironed in the right way. Each time, the anger passed quickly, and she’d learnt to live with it.

Sometimes, he recognised it himself and he left the house immediately, walking it off. He returned, calmer, apologetic but as she sat now, her arms wrapped around herself trying to contain her own frustration and helplessness, wondering when he would come back, she knew that her return to work full-time had impacted him more than she’d realised. Now she could only hope that he wouldn’t use it as leverage as a way to stop her working. But even if he did, once word got out that her son was involved in a criminal case, who would want to work with her or be associated with her organisation?

Claire swallowed hard and tried to think. This had to be a bad dream or at least a horrible mistake. If she could just talk to Rose… Without thinking, she got up, grabbed her keys and bag and put on her shoes and coat and left the house. If she’d remembered it correctly, Rose lived at 61A Sherbourne Road and she programmed the address into the satnav. She knew she shouldn’t, knew it might damage the case, but she had to know. This was her son and whatever Rose was playing at, Claire was going to find out.

*