Even though the police are holding my father, I’m still waiting for the sound of his car on the drive, then his key in the door, his heavy footsteps as he comes upstairs, his angry voice. I imagine him breaking in, slapping my mother’s face – which still hasn’t healed from the last time – shouting foul words at her and glancing past me as though I don’t exist. And if we’re gone when he comes here, he’ll search the countryside until he finds us.

My father didn’t like Hollie coming here; her way of questioning what my parents said, never accepting what everyone told her, digging deeper until she found what she was looking for. Hollie’s independent streak, her free-spiritedness, threatened his hold over me.

I remember her coming over to my house that evening. Fragile in her silver dress, her hair tangled. When she told me what she’d found, I didn’t believe her. I remember her hands shaking as she pulled it from her pocket, handed it to me. A piece of paper that changed her world – and mine – forever.

All this time I’ve kept Hollie’s secret, but when I think of what my father’s done, I know I have to tell my mother, even if it means breaking my promise to Hollie. But Hollie isn’t here anymore, and my mother should know why Dylan died. Then, when she does, she’ll be able to understand why Hollie died, too.

Chapter Forty-Seven

Jo

As I drive to work the next morning, I call Elise Buckley and discover that she and Niamh are already on their way to the B and B. Then I find myself thinking about what Ida Jones said, about someone forcing Dylan and Hollie to break up. As I pull into the car park, I already know what I want to do.

Inside, I head straight for the DI’s office. When I knock on his door, I find he’s talking on his phone, but he beckons me in and gestures for me to wait while he finishes the call.

‘Sorry about that, May. That was Forensics. They’re sending over a list of names in connection with Operation Rainbow.’

‘Have they found any images of Hollie?’

‘Nothing so far, but they’re going through everything more thoroughly now. Ah, here it is.’

While the DI prints off the email that’s just arrived, I tell him what I’ve been thinking. ‘Sir, I want to speak to Niamh Buckley again.’

He looks up from the printer. ‘Why?’

‘It was something Ida Jones said to me. She’s convinced someone must have forced Hollie and Dylan to break up, though she doesn’t seem to have any idea why. She also said that there was one person who may well know more than she’s said so far – Niamh.’

The DI looks thoughtful. ‘That girl drip-feeds information, doesn’t she?’