‘Her and that lad?’ He inhaled.

‘Yeah, her and Zach. And I think they – I don’t know. I thought they actually – they liked each other. You know, fancied one another. So I can’t quite get my head round it. How the line got crossed, and where the line was in the first place.’

‘Booze involved?’

‘Probably.’ I thought of the library card, the police officer’s words. ‘Definitely, I’d guess.’ Though I didn’t remember thinking they were pissed.

But then – I didn’t remember much of the night. I barely remembered the walk home with Cecilia at all, to my shame.

‘Hmm. Read the signals all wrong, you reckon? Poor kids. It’s hard, being a teenager.’ He inhaled again. ‘Hope you all sort it.’

‘Yeah, it’s a big mess. It’s just…’ I trailed off.

‘What?’ He narrowed those piercing eyes through the smoke.

‘Dunno. Something just feels a bit odd. I mean, it wasn’t even Cecilia who made the initial complaint. And she denied it, at first.’

‘Who made it then?’

‘The Jackson girl. Willow.’

He shook his head, none the wiser.

‘The hosts’ eldest? Posh, blonde, wearing a tiny purple dress on Saturday.’ Entitled, I didn’t say. ‘Very pretty.’

‘I see.’ He ground the cigarette out beneath his trainer. ‘Well, perhaps Cecilia was scared, or didn’t want to get her mate in trouble. The lad.’

‘Maybe.’ I shrugged. ‘But he is. He’s in big trouble. Police and all that.’

‘Feck. Tough.’

‘Yep.’ My hand was on our gate now. But something held me there, something powerful, like a magnet drawing me down through the earth.

‘Melissa,’ he said, very softly now, his back to the car, his body shielding mine from Rex’s view, ‘are you OK?’

‘Me?’ I said stupidly, gazing at him. But I had a creeping feeling that this was the moment; that there was a tiny sliver of hope that I might be able to escape, if I just told this man what had been going on.

‘Yeah, you.’ He was almost whispering. ‘You.’

‘Hurry up, Melissa.’ The slam of the car door made me jump badly. ‘I’m starving. What’s for dinner?’

‘Oh, I-I hadn’t thought yet,’ I stuttered stupidly. ‘Pasta?’

‘Well, that’s what you’re good at thinking about!’ Rex grabbed my wrist in his meaty hand. ‘A cook in the kitchen, eh, and a you-know-what in the…’ He winked heavily at Fin.

Fin looked at him blankly. Feck indeed.

‘You get my meaning, mate.’ Rex was blustering now.

‘Melissa.’ Fin ignored him entirely. ‘I’ll see you around.’

‘I doubt it,’ Rex said flatly.

How the hell had I let it come to this? Survivor of so much – straight into this car crash, my antennae for danger way off. Security had been too strong a temptation.

‘I do hope I will.’ The other man held Rex’s gaze. ‘After all, I only live next door.’

It was Rex who dropped his eyes first.

Quietly, I trekked up our path in front of him.

I slid the key into the lock, Ceci on my mind, on why exactly she’d changed her story. Was there something I was missing?