‘There’s been talk over the years. A couple of developers have been interested, but nothing’s ever come to fruition. The only people interested in coming in now are the ghoul hunters or kids daring each other to explore.’

‘And us.’

Liam’s mouth twisted into a crooked smile. ‘And us,’ he agreed.

As they stared at each other, Hannah’s phone picked that moment to ring, vibrating loudly in her pocket. She pulled it out, saw Josh’s name on the screen, and swiped to send the call to voicemail.

This moment was too important. Josh would have to wait.

‘Everything okay?’

She nodded. ‘Just Josh. He can wait. How safe is it upstairs? Are we okay to go up?’

He nodded. ‘Yeah, it’s okay structurally. Just be careful. There are a few loose floorboards.’

Hannah went through to the hallway, could hear Liam telling Tank to stay as she started to make her way up the stairs, to the place where she had first seen Mrs W’s mask slip.

‘No, Tank! Sit! Dammit, Tank!’

Of course the dog wasn’t paying any attention and moments later they were both following after her.

‘He really would benefit from obedience classes,’ she said as Tank charged past her.

Liam muttered something non-committal about how he might look into it, though they both knew full well that he wouldn’t. Honestly, though, Tank was a welcome distraction.

As Hannah approached the landing, saw the low ceiling with its dark beams, the ones that often haunted her nightmares, her chest tightened.

Although her legs were heavy with reluctance, she pushed on, determined to prove to herself once and for all that nothing in this house could hurt her.

The door to Mrs W’s bedroom was wide open. The once ornate bed still dominated the room, though it was missing the mattress and the base was broken in two. The wallpaper was mostly torn from the walls and there was a gaping hole in the ceiling. Hannah had seen inside this room just the once and found it difficult to wipe the image of what she had long ago witnessed.

‘This was where I first knew something wasn’t quite right,’ she told Liam, finding it easier if she spoke about what she was remembering.

He didn’t say anything, but she saw she had his attention.

‘It’s where I saw her with Bill. He was bent over, his jeans and pants down, and she was hitting him. I’ve never been able to shake that image, forget the look of humiliation on his face.’

She waited for Liam to react, but he remained quiet, studying her, his only giveaway in the slight tightening of his mouth.

Hannah shrugged. He was obviously in writer mode.

She wandered into the room, emboldened by realising she could. That Mrs W couldn’t hurt her.