The greyness of the evening is broken by a single blue light, followed by a siren. My first thought is that it’s connected to James Hampton, and I wonder whether the police have arrested him. I don’t hear any more until later, when Andrew comes home. Without speaking, he pours himself a drink, downing it in one gulp before pouring another.

‘I suppose you should know,’ he says at last, dispassionately, unemotionally. ‘Stephanie Hampton was in a car accident.’

‘God.’ Shock hits me. Light-headed, I feel my way to the table, pulling out a chair and sitting down. ‘What happened? Is that where you’ve come from? Is she OK?’

‘Actually, I was in the pub at the time. I was supposed to meet James, but he didn’t turn up. Then I got a call from the police telling me what had happened – James must have told them where I was and obviously they needed a doctor there immediately. I went straight over – Stephanie’s car hit a tree near their home.’ He frowns. ‘I’m not sure how the police got there so quickly. They must have gone there about something else. Anyway, she’s been taken by ambulance to St Richard’s.’

‘God,’ I repeat. After everything else that family has been through, and now this … I can’t take it in. ‘I saw her earlier today – I went to the salon. I can’t believe this.’

‘Whatever for?’ His voice is disdainful.

‘To see how she was,’ I lie. ‘It’s called being neighbourly, Andrew.’ I pause. ‘What are the chances that she’ll recover?’

Andrew looks at me. ‘You’re like everyone else around here, aren’t you? Sticking your nose in where it isn’t wanted. You really think she’d have wanted to talk to you, of all people? Don’t you think the poor woman’s been through enough?’

Flabbergasted by his rudeness, I watch him slam his glass down before topping it up.

He goes on. ‘If you really want to know, I’ve no idea if she’ll survive. Her pulse was weak, her heart all over the place when she went to the hospital. God knows what speed she was driving at.’

Andrew’s voice is cold, disdainful, as if he doesn’t care. Meanwhile, guilt creeps up on me because I feel instrumental in what’s happened. Stephanie was on edge when I saw her, aware that time was running out. She probably knew that after her outburst this morning, I had no reason not to go to the police. Maybe she decided not to call them in the end. Or maybe, after the conversation I had with DS May, the police went over there because of me.

‘Stephanie was worried about James.’ I watch Andrew’s face, and as he turns around, DS May’s warning about being careful comes back to me.

‘Did she say why?’ His eyes bore into me.