That was his fine wool coat ruined.

‘Jesus, Will!’ cried Finn.

‘I know what you did!’ Will said, leaning over Guy. ‘I know what you did to Alice and I’m going to prove it!’

‘Hey, Will, come on,’ Finn tugged at Will’s sleeve, ‘there’s no need to—’

‘You think you’ve got away with it, don’t you? But I know about your financial problems, Guy. I know about the mess you were in and I’m going to make sure the whole world knows about that, and how you stitched up your parents, and how you killed Alice!’

Guy tried to push himself up but his hands found no purchase in the mud. Other people were approaching, drawn to the raised voices. Finn’s efforts to pull Will away became more urgent.

‘Please, buddy, calm down!’

‘I’m going to expose you, Guy deVillars!’ Will cried, jabbing his finger in the direction of the other man’s chest. ‘I’m going to let the whole world know what kind of slime-ball you really are. You’re going to pay for what you did!’

‘Will! That’s enough!’ cried Finn. Guy pushed himself to his feet. The sleeves of his coat were soaked to the elbows.

Mr and Mrs deVillars had become aware of the ruckus, and were straining to see what was going on. Conscience was the only thing that held Will back from doing or saying anything more. He wanted to kill Guy, but he didn’t want to distress his fragile mother when she was clearly so upset already.

40

After her agility run, Marnie sat in the car for some respite from the weather. Through the bare branches of the winter trees she could see the grey stone of a squat church tower, similar to the one in Severn Sands.

Marnie’s mother had been buried in the churchyard there. Mr and Mrs deVillars had pulled strings to make this happen because plots close to the church were limited and there had been some resistance from John Morahan, for whom Denise’s strong faith had always been a sore point. Eventually he’d agreed to a religious burial, but under sufferance. Marnie, with little knowledge of what any of this meant, had done her best to explain it to Alice.

They had been to the park stores to buy lemons and sugar. Alice was going to teach Marnie how to make lemonade. Alice listened carefully to everything that Marnie told her about Denise. It had only been a few months earlier, but the circumstances of her mother’s death and the funeral were already blurred in Marnie’s mind. Alice said that was normal. She said it was the way most people processed trauma. Marnie didn’t understand what that meant, but she liked the sound of it.

‘Have you been back to the grave to put flowers on it?’ Alice had asked.