Later, Rosalind would remember the scene with Caro screaming, but in truth, there was no scream. Maybe she was hit too quickly, unconscious before she had time to react. Maybe she was too stubborn to give her attacker the satisfaction. That would be like Caro.

While Rosalind searched the kitchen, she heard a thud through the adjoining wall to the bedroom, as clearly as she heard Posy stop searching the living areas and call, ‘Caro?’

Rosalind told herself it was the lateness, the darkness outside the pools of torchlight, the strangeness of investigating a real-life murder, all these years after her last fictional one. Those were the only reasons for the heavy feeling in her stomach, her sudden awareness of the beating of her own heart.

She placed the sugar canister on the counter, a little pile of spilt, white crystals surrounding it, and turned from the kitchen, moving without thinking towards the bedroom, and Caro.

Posy got there first, pausing by Caro’s fallen body, before jerking away towards the window. ‘They went out that way.’

‘Who was it?’ Rosalind dropped to her knees at Caro’s side, ignoring the spike of pain in the left one that always came when she moved suddenly. She was mesmerised, instead, by the small trail of blood that trickled from the base of Caro’s victory rolls, over her temple and down her cheek, a perfect match for the red lipstick that stood out against her pale, bloodless face.

‘I couldn’t see.’ Posy levered the window further open and threw one leg over the sill. ‘I’m going after them.’

‘What? No!’ Torn between helping Caro and stopping Posy doing something stupid, Rosalind swung her head up to meet Posy’s gaze. ‘It’s not safe. You can’t.’

‘You look after Caro.’ And then she was gone, out of the window and into the night.

Caro stirred beside her. ‘Wha—Rosalind?’

‘I’m here. Don’t try to move.’ She stroked a comforting hand down Caro’s arm. ‘Did you see who attacked you?’

Caro shook her head, then winced at the movement. ‘Where’s Posy?’

‘Gone after your attacker,’ Rosalind said. ‘No, don’t try to sit up. Stay there. I’m going to try to find a phone and call for an ambulance.’

Caro ignored her, and struggled into a sitting position. ‘You need to go after her.’

‘I can’t leave you here alone.’

‘You can’t leave her out there alone.’ Caro tried to shuffle towards the wall, pain contorting her face under the blood as she moved. Rosalind reached out to help her, but Caro shook her off. ‘I’m serious. Go!’

Rosalind’s days of climbing through windows were long over, but she knew she didn’t need to. If Caro’s attacker was headed away from Aldermere, they’d have to go around the edge of the Gate House, and past the front door.