She looks at the photos on the floor, the old newspapers. It looks like a crime scene, and in a way it is.

She walks back and sits down again, then opens a new document. She calls it Aftermath for now. She starts to type, copying from her notebooks, slowly at first then faster, warming up.

It was surprising how quickly things took off in the end, like a bonfire, one of those big ones the children loved so much. Some nights I hear that sound of crackling again, like a bomb ticking down. I wait for the roar and see the flames; the scent of scorching fills the air. I can feel that searing heat.

The children danced around fires all summer, lit up and yelling like wild things.

The attic is quiet, apart from the tapping and the birdsong that comes through the window along with the noise of sheep. Some of them have tiny lambs already; she can hear them in the fields, calling for their mothers.

Acknowledgments

Warm thanks are due to the following.

Women’s Aid staff: for information about admitting procedures and the running of shelters. This crucial charity provides vital support for countless victims of domestic abuse.

Sir John Royce, High Court judge and neighbor, for his reading of the text and invaluable advice. Any mistakes in the legal aspects of the book are mine alone.

Pat Jones, OBE, founder and principal of the Bristol Dyslexia Center, for much help and advice.

Simon Williams, deputy head of the Charter School North Dulwich, for meeting me at the school and for information about knife crime and school safety procedures.

Nick Shaw, police constable, for his invaluable advice about police procedures and investigations.

Erenie Mullens-Burgess, charity manager at Bell House, in Dulwich, for kindly showing me around the house, an educational center that provided inspiration for the setting of Eve’s house.

Alan Grieg, whose bid to FundingNeuro’s auction won the right for Karen McFetters’s name to be included in this story. FundingNeuro is the charity that supports my husband Steve Gill’s work with children’s brain tumors, Parkinson’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Julian Power, whose bid to the charity CLIC Sargent’s “Get in Character” auction won the right for Marian Power’s name to be included in my story.

I am very grateful to the following people and teams whose support throughout has been invaluable.

Eve White, my agent, and her assistant Ludo Cinelli, on whom I rely for help, wise advice, and friendship.

Jessica Leeke, Clare Bowron, Sarah Bance, Nick Lowndes, and the whole team at Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House, and Lisa Brewster, who designed the beautiful cover of Little Friends.

Rachel Kahan and all her hardworking team at William Morrow, especially Ashley Caswell, who designed the fabulous cover of The Playground.

My writing group for their reading of early drafts of this novel, including Tanya Attapatu, Victoria Finlay, Emma Geen, Susan Jordan, Sophie McGovern, Mimi Thebo, and, from farther away, Hadiza el Rufai.