She took the mug of coffee he had poured her, mumbling something that he thought was supposed to be a thank you, and dumped in both milk and sugar before stirring it rigorously, then she sat herself down at her small dining table to wait.

After putting the plate of food in front of her, he left her to eat while he cleared up the kitchen, pleased to note she was wolfing it down.

He had already tried the charming and hapless approach and it hadn’t worked. Perhaps being more direct with her would work better.

Whatever approach was needed, he would adapt. Hannah played a key role in his story and he would not back off until she had given him everything he needed.

She was quiet on the ride down to Suffolk and he left her to brood.

They had stopped by the Airbnb after leaving Hannah’s, picking up an excitable Tank, and after spending the first twenty minutes restless at being relegated to the back seat of the car, the dog had finally settled, and was now snoring away.

Liam was aware Hannah was caught up in the past, but he also picked up on her nerves. She had tried her best to hide them, but failed, and he knew she was nervous at the thought of seeing Eileen.

One of the conditions of the woman’s release was that she didn’t return to Hixton. Instead, Bill had rented a house in Sudbury, which she had moved in to, and that was where they were headed.

He purposely took a different route, so they wouldn’t go near the farm.

The place was no longer inhabitable. Despite talks with developers about buying the land for new housing, it had never happened and the farmhouse that had long ago been the family home was now a dilapidated mess. Vandals and squatters had abused it over time. The windows broken, the wallpaper peeling, and the torn carpet reeking of piss. Both inside and out were covered in graffiti, much of it with reference to the woman and her crimes. Liam had already spent time in the farmhouse and it was difficult to comprehend that it had once been a deceptively inviting and cosy place. The kind that lured you in, unaware of the cruelty lurking within the walls.

Hannah’s mother and stepfather still lived locally and he wondered how it was for Hannah each time she visited home. He imagined Eileen was never far from her thoughts, and probably more so now she was out of prison.

‘Do you think she’s gone back there at all… since she got out?’

Hannah’s words cut through his thoughts and he glanced over at her.

‘To the farm,’ she elaborated, though he knew what she meant.

‘She’s not allowed to. It was one of the terms of her release.’

‘I know that, but do you think she’s gone back there anyway?’