Will sighed. How did you break news like this to someone so far away?

‘What’s happened?’ Angharad asked, her voice tense now, all the jokiness and jollity gone. ‘What is it, Will?’

Will looked at her face, looking back at his. She could be a nightmare, but she was his nightmare and he’d never for a second doubted her love for him. He didn’t want to hurt her.

‘They found some bones buried in the holiday park,’ he said. ‘Alice Lang’s bones.’

Angharad let out a small gasp of distress.

‘Are you sure?’ she asked. ‘I mean, are they sure it’s Alice?’

‘Yes. It’s not official yet, but… yes.’

‘Jesus.’ There was a brief, anxious silence. Then Angharad asked: ‘Why are you there, Will? Why have you gone back to Severn Sands?’

‘I had to come, Mum. I’m writing a book about Alice and—’

‘But why go back? Why get involved? They’ll be asking questions, Will. They’ll want to know what you were doing that night and—’

‘I’ll tell them what I told them last time: that they need to investigate Guy deVillars.’

‘You shouldn’t do that, Will. You’ll end up in trouble.’

‘I won’t. Did you know that it was Mrs deVillars who came forward to say she’d seen Alice going down to the sea that night?’

‘I did know, actually.’

‘How?’

‘She told me.’

‘What? What did she say?’

‘She said she couldn’t sleep and she decided to take a fresh bottle of lemonade over to the caretaker’s cottage for little Marnie Morahan. Little mite was poorly, remember?’

‘And you believed her?’

‘It was true. She did take the lemonade. John told me.’

‘But the seeing Alice bit was a lie, we know that now. And why would she have said that if it wasn’t to protect Guy? She’s in no state to remember now, but she must have believed he was involved in some way at the time.’

Angharad sighed. ‘Will, you were the one under suspicion until Mrs deVillars came forward. Don’t you remember? I was worried sick. Mrs deVillars was so kind to me. She told me not to worry. She said she’d go back to the police and tell them she’d seen Alice to get you off the hook. If it hadn’t been for her I don’t know what I…’ she trailed off. ‘Have you spoken to John Morahan?’

‘No. I saw Marnie yesterday but… Why should I speak to John?’