‘Now hang on a minute,’ Joanne said, as a sea of disgruntled mutterings rose in the room. Joanne was always quick to defend her old friend Rose.

Lloyd gently lay his hand on the curve of his wife’s back. It was a small gesture, unseen by the crowd. But it was telling her to quieten and allow him to step in.

‘She won’t find answers in the library, you know that,’ Lloyd said.

‘I don’t even know why she’s down there, not when she’s got the internet,’ someone from the back of the room pointed out. ‘You can see all the theories online. What’s the house gonna do for her? What difference does it make if she’s here?’

‘That’s right,’ another voice piped up. ‘If you drive them out, then she’ll get even more suspicious than she already is.’

‘Not if we do it now,’ Joanne said, ‘before she gets her teeth into it. Otherwise . . .’ Her words hung in the air and it seemed her thoughts were too dark to voice.

Lloyd’s frown deepened as he took in Joanne’s face. She had been desperate to rid the village of the family from the start. But just how far was she prepared to go to protect their secret? It was a question he had asked himself many times. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer.

He turned to Dawn. ‘How sure are you about all of this? Do you think the family are determined to find answers?’

‘Pretty sure.’ Dawn spoke with confidence. ‘I can easily find out more.’

‘I don’t like it.’ Reverend Humphries’s face was chalky-white. ‘This could turn sour. I don’t want you getting involved.’

Lloyd rubbed his chin. Dawn was young. The man was bound to be worried, given she was all he had left in the world.

‘She’s clueless, a complete nerd.’ Dawn laughed. ‘What’s she going to do, bore me to death? Besides . . .’ Her gaze roamed around the room. ‘It’s gonna look weird if I stop seeing her now.’ She walked towards the fireplace, bending to stroke Bonnie’s fur.

‘I say we have a show of hands,’ Joanna said. ‘Who wants to nip this in the bud and nudge this family out of the village?’

‘Wait,’ Mike said, clearly torn. ‘It’s too early to run them out.’

As he glanced around the room, Lloyd could see that opinion was split. The villagers would follow his lead, but he had to be seen to be balanced. Plus, he didn’t want to get the blame if it all went horribly wrong.

‘Then how about Dawn finds out a bit more?’ He turned to her. ‘That’s if you’re up for it?’ He knew no harm could come to her. On the contrary. Dawn was a firecracker.

‘Hell yeah!’ Dawn laughed. ‘This is the most exciting thing that’s happened all year.’