Rosie had peeked inside the bag before the police arrived and it was clear Bill had come prepared for a long night. Just the thought of what he had planned to do to her before ending her life made her want to throw up.

‘I’m sorry.’ Liam ran his fingertips up and down her arm in a soothing gesture. ‘He can’t hurt you now, remember that. If he does wake up, the police have him on attempted murder, and two other counts of murder potentially. He’ll be looking at a prison sentence.’

Hannah did know that, but it brought little comfort. Bill had killed two of her friends. She knew Jill’s death had been caused by him, even if the police couldn’t prove it. And the timing of Bill’s attacks, coinciding with Mrs W’s release and disappearance, suggested that she was involved too.

Bill would go to prison, but what about his mother?

Would Hannah and Rosie and Tash always be looking over their shoulder?

59

Liam had dropped the subject of the differing patterns, but it continued to play on his mind.

Two days later, Bill woke up and when questioned, he took everyone by surprise, confessing to the attack on Hannah, but claiming he didn’t know where his mother was and insisting he had nothing to do with what had happened to Lauren or Jill.

An eyewitness had put him at Lauren’s home in the early hours of the morning after her murder and he was charged, but still it bothered Liam. Bill had confessed to stalking Hannah and Rosie, so why so vehemently deny being involved in Lauren and Jill’s deaths?

As Hannah pointed out, the charge he was admitting to was attempted murder, whereas if he confessed to the others, it would mean a more severe sentence, but even still, Liam’s gut told him something was off and he had learnt to trust it over the years. That was why he decided to head south and do a bit of investigating himself. He was going to have to do it at some point for the book. He was just escalating the timeline.

Deciding it was best if Hannah didn’t know anything about the trip, he came up with the ruse of having to go see his mother. Von Goldberg lived just a short distance from Jill, but he had no intention of calling in to see her. This visit was all about keeping Hannah safe.

He still hadn’t addressed his feelings for her and how they had changed since her attack. He wasn’t a person who committed. Hell, he was happy with his nomadic lifestyle, just him and Tank, plus he had only known her for a few weeks. That was way too soon to develop real feelings for someone, and certainly too early to decide whether they played an important role in your life.