‘I’m sorry,’ April began, ‘but I think Nick’s worst crime was maintaining a lifestyle he couldn’t afford, just like you do. You were as guilty as each other, but he’s the one who was killed for it.’

‘Killed?’ Faith asked. She took a sip of her drink and a slosh of tonic water dribbled down her shirt. ‘I didn’t plan any of this.’

‘We know you didn’t,’ Tara said. ‘But the truth is, Nick wasn’t the threat you thought he was. He had his faults, but he didn’t deserve to die. Did he?’

The question was a plea from one friend to another. Tara wanted to believe Faith’s version of events, but then so did Faith. She hadn’t got it wrong. Nick was a threat. ‘I loved him,’ she whispered.

‘Him, or the life he offered?’ asked April.

‘Am I being accused of something?’

‘No,’ April said, too quickly.

‘Are you sure?’

April dared to hold her gaze. ‘When I told you what Olivia had said about Nick, it was only when I mentioned his debts that you reacted.’

‘And is that what you’re doing now? Forcing me to react?’

Faith was good at facial expressions and the one she used with April was a gentle plea to stop overthinking everything. Thoughts like that could get someone killed.

‘I watched Nick’s life ebb away,’ said April, reliving that day in all its gore. She was tougher than Faith gave her credit for. ‘He wasn’t angry or vengeful, he was scared, and not only for himself. He was scared for me, Faith. I thought he was asking for water, but he wasn’t. He said, “Watch her”, meaning you. Why would he think I was in danger?’

To give herself time, Faith turned back to the fridge. Her drink needed a slice of lemon. ‘If this is where you’re expecting me to confess all, I’m sorry to disappoint,’ she said. ‘You said yourself that Nick’s words were incomprehensible.’

‘Please, Faith,’ Tara said. ‘We know Nick didn’t laugh in your face while admitting he’d lied to us. What else did you make up? It’s time to tell the truth.’

‘Is it really?’ she demanded. ‘Is Josh going to risk bringing his charity into disrepute by admitting he had an innocent man sacked? I’m guessing not, otherwise he would have gone to the police, not to you. We use the little lies and half-truths to protect ourselves and those we love.’