Hannah refused to feel any sympathy for the woman. She had brought it on herself.

Dirty little bitch.

My house. My rules.

I’m going to teach you a lesson you won’t forget.

As she waited for the door to open, her gut churned and her legs trembled.

Come on. She just wanted this to be over with.

Face her fear, tell the bitch to leave her alone, go home, never come back.

Would it be that easy?

A door opened, but it wasn’t Mrs W’s.

‘She’s not there.’

Hannah glanced over to the neighbouring property and the man who was talking to her. He had a scowl on his face.

‘She won’t answer because she’s not there.’

Hannah’s relief was tinged with disappointment. She didn’t have to face her, but she had come all this way for nothing. Was it worth waiting? Would her nerves handle it?

‘Okay, thank you.’ She tried smiling at the neighbour, but his scowl remained in place. ‘I’ll perhaps try again later.’

‘No point,’ he muttered. ‘She’s gone.’

‘What do you mean she’s gone? She lives here.’

‘Not for the last few days. I’m guessing our message got through to her in the end. This is a nice place. We don’t want her type here. And if you’re anything to do with her, you’re not welcome here either.’

‘Are you threatening me?’

‘Consider it a polite warning.’

Before she could respond to that, the man stepped back into his house and slammed the door.

Hannah looked at Mrs W’s house again, then back across the road to where Liam was watching. She shrugged and watched him get out of the car in response.

‘She’s not here,’ she told him as he jogged over to join her. ‘The neighbour says she left a few days ago.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘He seemed certain. When did you last see her?’

‘About a week ago.’ He gave a wry smile. ‘She told me to piss off.’

‘Really? I thought she was on board with this whole book thing.’

That was interesting news. So Mrs W wasn’t a Liam Quinn fan either.

‘I’m not exactly painting her as a hero.’

‘I see.’ Perhaps Hannah had been wrong to jump to conclusions about the book without at least asking. She had assumed it was being written with Mrs W’s blessing.

‘It’s about the crime she committed, what drove her to do what she did, how she was caught and put away, and the long-lasting effect it had on everyone. That’s why I wanted your input, to be certain I am portraying your version of events as accurately as possible.’

And still making money out of it. Hannah kept that thought to herself.