I show them the stash of sweets and chocolate in my carrier bag. Cadbury’s Dairy Milk. Rolo. Twix. Mars Bars. Snickers. Haribo Tangfastics. Gummy bears. Starmix. Giant sour suckers. All their favourites. Whichever one wins, I know they will share.

‘And then can we go to McDonald’s for lunch?’ Ben tries.

‘Of course,’ I reply with a smile.

91

Hayley

I’m sitting beneath the weeping willow with Caprice, snowdrops tilting their teardrop heads towards us. The first crocuses are beginning to show.

‘There’s something you need to look at,’ Caprice says, pulling her iPhone from her pocket.

She taps her phone so that a photograph spreads across the screen, then hands it to me.

Ben and Harry, naked, locked in a small animal cage. Crying.

‘What’s this?’ I ask, confused. ‘Is it a silly game?’

I take a deep breath. ‘No. Saffron leaves them like this when she’s supposed to be looking after them. She’s nuts. She can’t cope with them. I’ve been secretly watching her.’

I shake my head. ‘This is outrageous. Ridiculous. It doesn’t sound a bit like Saffron.’

Caprice shrugs. ‘Look in the back of her wardrobe if you don’t believe me. That’s where she keeps the cage. Then she goes to the dining room to do paperwork.’

‘But she could just put them in front of a cartoon on Netflix while she works,’ I protest. ‘She doesn’t need to cage them.’

‘You still don’t get it, do you? You must have heard her slapping Miles in the face. She’s cruel. She’s violent. She puts them in a cage to hurt them and punish them. What do I have to do to convince you she’s dangerous?’

I smile politely. ‘Aren’t the crocuses lovely?’ I say in an attempt to distract her.

Sometimes Caprice gets so worked up. As if Saffron would put the children in a cage while she got on with her work. It’s obviously a game. I’m very fond of Caprice, but sometimes, just sometimes, I wonder whether her age is affecting her brain.

92

Caprice

I look into your strong brown eyes, Hayley, and know you don’t believe me. I need to ramp up the situation. The boys need to look as if they have been hurt. Really hurt. I will make it look as if they’ve been hurt without truly harming them. I’m an exceptionally loving grandmother. It’s for their good in the long run.

93

Saffron

When I told Miles it’s you or me, Caprice, I can assure you I meant it. I’m sitting in my office, following the link Ted has sent me, downloading Tor encryption software onto my computer. Next, I need to learn how to use it.

94

Caprice