The first thing I did was change out of my blood-soaked clothing and quickly shower. Then I went into the kitchen and pulled a garbage bag from the cupboard under the sink and handed it to Wozza. ‘You’re on pick-up duty. I’ll get the broom.’

Wozza took the folded bag from me and flicked it open expertly. Using his big arm, he swept the bench of broken crockery, then started on the floor. Jess arrived, hugged me, and joined the clean-up crew. She had brought a cleaning bucket and rubber gloves, which she snapped on before starting to wash the fingerprint dust from all the surfaces. Wozza filled his garbage bag with things that used to be precious but were now broken. I followed behind him with the broom, then the mop. When I got near the couch, he came over and took the mop out of my hands.

‘We’re nearly done now,’ he said. Behind the couch, we both knew, was a drying pool of blood. ‘I’ll finish up here. You put the kettle on and find some unbroken teacups.’

I found the old tin teapot Nan used when I was a child. Jess and I busied ourselves in the now-clean kitchen. I didn’t watch Wozza mop behind the couch. And I didn’t see the water in the bucket turn red.

When my phone rang, I picked it up with shaking hands. It was the vet. Waffles was out of surgery and resting comfortably. ‘I can’t thank you enough,’ I said, my emotions spilling over.

We finally sat down in the small hours of the morning with a cup of tea and a plate of Wozza’s favourite biscuits. Jess had brought them with her, saying, ‘There’s nothing that Tim Tams can’t make a little better.’

‘Now that we’ve cleaned up that guy’s mess,’ Wozza said, ‘I reckon you better tell us why he was here.’

I rubbed my eyes, feeling almost punch-drunk with fatigue. Wozza and Jess deserved to know the truth. And it was time for me to speak it.

‘Bob Shepherd is the father of Noah Shepherd—the guy I charged in Melbourne for raping a young woman called Gemma Watson. He was found not guilty and his family decided to sue Gemma for slander.’

‘What? No way!’ said Jess.

Wozza took another Tim Tam.

‘Yep, it’s hard to fathom,’ I said, shaking my head. ‘The Shepherds wouldn’t let it go. In his parents’ minds, Noah was innocent, and so they all turned on Gemma. She was already so fragile from the rape and the annihilation in court. She might have pulled through it, but the lawsuit was the tipping point.’ I took a sip of tea and collected my thoughts. I had rarely spoken of the night Gemma died. Putting it into words felt strange.

‘Sounds like she got under your skin,’ said Wozza. ‘I’ve had cases like that too.’