I end the call and sit down on a plastic chair. The duty officer looks over at me from behind her desk, her expression chilly.

My body feels limp with exhaustion. The effort of having to keep the truth from Bains has taken its toll. I close my eyes but all I see is Geoffrey staring back at me. Asking Why?

I need to get out of here, I think to myself, looking up at the posters on the walls: ‘Have you been a victim of crime?’ ‘See it. Say it. Sorted.’ I feel like I’m being watched, like Bains is hidden somewhere behind those posters, waiting to pounce.

‘Nessa, darling.’

I look up. Georgie is rushing through the main doors towards me. As I see her, the tears I’ve been trying to hold back all evening come rushing forth. It feels like I’m four years old again and I’ve just spotted my mum waiting for me in the playground after my first day at school.

‘I’m sorry,’ I say as she wraps her arms around me. ‘I’m – I’m so sorry.’

‘Come on,’ she says, gently guiding me towards the doors. ‘Let’s get you home.’

Georgie is silent as we cross the dimly lit car park. I feel a prickle of unease as I look up into the night sky. This isn’t over yet, I whisper to myself, this nightmare. It’s only just beginning.

Georgie unlocks the car door and doesn’t say a word until we are on the road heading for the common. Then she turns to me and asks the question I’ve been waiting for.

‘Tell me what happened, Ness. Why did you go to that house?’

I know I should be honest with her. She’s my sister. And though there’s thirteen years between us, we have always been close. She’s always been there for me. But as we drive through the deserted London streets I can still feel Bains’s gaze on me, accusatory, judging. If I tell Georgie the truth now she will never forgive me. Never. So, instead, I close my eyes and let the lie slip out.

‘It was all a misunderstanding, Georgie,’ I say, my voice cracking slightly. ‘I wasn’t there. It wasn’t me. They got me mixed up with someone else.’

‘But I thought they said –’

‘They got it wrong,’ I say firmly. ‘And they’ve let me go. I’m so sorry you’ve had to come out at this time of night, and that I’ve worried you. I’ll make it up to you. I promise.’