‘I can tell you now that I don’t want it,’ Ella said. She played with the wedding band on her finger. ‘It’s time I had a life of my own and if Faith comes out of this without a stain on her character, I’ll happily give her my share of the house just to wash my hands of the whole thing.’

Tara reached over and picked up April’s glass. With a nod of apology, she drained her friend’s drink. ‘Faith always did have the luck of the devil on her side.’

Movement outside the pub caught their attention. There were people milling around, excited reporters and cameras next to vans with satellite dishes. A news story was breaking.

‘The jury didn’t take long,’ Ella said, checking her phone. ‘Are you coming?’

‘I’m not going back in there,’ April said.

‘I don’t want to go either,’ added Tara. She had no desire to hear the verdict. Her mind was already decided on the matter. Faith was guilty, and if by some chance she repented the actions that led to Nick’s death, she wouldn’t be the only one.

The meeting room bustled with nervous energy, although April noted that the circle wasn’t as large as it had been at the beginning of the year. In addition to the gaps left by Faith and Nick, there were the spaces vacated by Tara and Iain, and Jodie was missing too. She hadn’t taken kindly to Justine chastising her for her online comments, especially when Justine had been guilty of the same, but April expected her to return soon. The group would heal in time and there were already signs of new growth.

‘How’s everyone feeling after the meeting last week?’ asked Justine.

‘Stunned,’ said Nadiya on behalf of them all.

Tara had kept to her promise of holding one last meeting to allow everyone to deal with the aftermath of Faith’s trial. Unlike the courts, the group wasn’t used to passing judgement, but they had reached a conclusion that fell somewhere between the verdict and the truth that Faith would never reveal.

‘I know it’s a big ask,’ continued Justine, ‘but I think going forward, we need to focus our attention on our own lives. It’s natural that our thoughts will be pulled back to what happened from time to time, but we’ll take it one meeting at a time.’

‘We’re going to miss Tara,’ Steve admitted. ‘She had a knack of keeping us in check. Sorry, that wasn’t meant to be a reflection on you, Justine.’

‘I fully accept that it’s going to be tough without her, which is why I’ve enrolled some help,’ Justine said, glancing to April. ‘For those who don’t know yet, I’ve managed to persuade April to share some of the administrative burden.’