They didn’t move. I had time to wonder what we would do if they never did; I knew better than to get any closer. Then Julia straightened, away from Selena’s side, brought her legs under her and stood up. She came down the rise to us without a glance at the others, came swishing through the hyacinths with her back straight and her eyes on something behind us. My neck itched.

Conway said, ‘Let’s walk down this way. We’ll only need a few minutes.’

She headed on down the path, deeper into the grounds. Julia fell into place behind her. The other two watched, side pressed to side, till I turned away. At my back, nearly made me leap, came the deep sigh of the cypress trees.

Even Julia’s walk was different, out here. No mocking arse-sway now; she took the path deft as a deer, barely shifted a twig. Like this was her territory, she could’ve crept up on a sleeping bird and taken it in her hand.

Conway said, without looking over her shoulder, ‘I’m gonna assume Selena’s updated you. We know yous were getting out at night, we know she had something going with Chris, we know they’d split up. And we know you were meeting Chris. Right up until he died.’

Nothing. The path broadened out, wide enough for the three of us to walk abreast. Julia’s legs were shorter than ours, but she didn’t speed up; left us to slow to her pace or leave her behind, whichever. We slowed.

‘We’ve got your texts. On the special super-secret phone he gave Selena.’

Her silence felt unbreakable. She had put on a red jumper, no jacket, and the air was turning cold. She didn’t seem to notice.

Conway said, ‘Is that why Selena broke it off with Chris, yeah? We couldn’t work that out. Was it because she knew you were into him, didn’t want him getting between you?’

That got to Julia. ‘I was never into Chris. I have taste.’

‘Then what were you doing with him out here at midnight? Algebra?’

Silence, and her silent steps. Time running out was pounding at me: Rebecca waiting behind us, Mackey and Holly waiting above us, McKenna waiting to ring the bell that would end the day. Rushing this would only slow it down.

Conway said, ‘How many times did you meet him?’

Nothing.

‘If it wasn’t you, it was one of your mates. Had Selena got back together with him?’

Julia said, ‘Three times. I met him three times.’

‘Why’d you stop?’

‘He got killed. It put a damper on the relationship.’

‘Relationship,’ I said. ‘What kind?’

‘Intellectual. We talked world politics.’

The sarcasm was heavy enough to be all the answer we needed. Conway said, ‘If you weren’t into him, then why?’

‘Because. You never did anything stupid, when it came to guys?’