Liam drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he considered her question. ‘I have no idea. Have you been to the farm since?’ He threw the question back at her, curious to know the answer.

He had automatically assumed no, but then Hannah had already surprised him more than once.

He thought back to the pictures he had seen of her online. She was softer in print, but actually more attractive in the flesh. Those green eyes of hers so expressive, showing every emotion she experienced. Mostly, in Liam’s case, it had been annoyance. Right now, they looked haunted and it was distracting enough, that he had to force his attention back to the road.

‘No!’ When she eventually answered, she snapped out the word and he assumed that was it, she was going to close down again, so she surprised him when, after a moment, she continued. ‘I’ve wanted to. There have been a couple of times I’ve tried to go back there.’

Liam didn’t respond, hoping she would fill the silence.

‘It’s not a masochistic thing. I’m not trying to torment myself. I guess it’s a fear I want to try to conquer. It’s been twenty years and it annoys me that a stupid farm still has such a hold over me.’ He could hear the mix of vulnerability and annoyance in her voice.

‘So you’re scared to go to the farm, but you want to go and see Eileen?’ The question wasn’t judgmental or scornful. He simply wanted to understand.

‘It’s different. You wouldn’t get it.’

‘You don’t know that. Try me.’

From the little huff she gave, he suspected she couldn’t be bothered to explain, but he didn’t push and eventually she spoke.

‘Eileen Wickham is just a person and she’s got to be in her sixties now. The farm, that was the place where it happened. I know it sounds ridiculous, because surely I should be more afraid of the woman who did those horrible things, but this place haunts my nightmares more than her.’ Hannah gave a humourless laugh. ‘Don’t get me wrong. I’m not looking forward to seeing the woman. I would rather leave her in the past.’

‘So why are we going to see her? Is it really just because of the flowers?’

‘I have to. I need to ask why she’s doing this to us.’

‘Us?’

Hannah’s silence had him glancing in her direction and he could tell from her expression of annoyance that she had slipped up.

‘What do you mean “us”? What else has happened?’

‘Nothing. Just the flowers.’

‘Us is plural.’

‘Nothing else has happened. It was a slip of the tongue.’

Liam gave her a measured look, but decided not to push it, fearful she would shut down again.