‘We made a mistake, Mrs Gilpin. Abby,’ he said. ‘Eddie and I were just kids, but you … you should have known better.’

‘Keep your voice down.’

‘I’m sick of keeping my voice down,’ he said. ‘I’m sick of keeping your secrets.’

‘John, just listen—’

‘No,’ he said. ‘I don’t have to listen to you anymore, Abby. I am all shades of fucked up because I listened to you. I’ve had nightmares since I was a kid because I listened to you. Annabel Stemple died never knowing the truth, because I fucking listened to you.’

At the mention of Annabel’s name, Abby was briefly transported back in time. She remembered the woman who bought cigarettes from her at the Buy & Bye, and she remembered her son, the boy with the luminol-blue eyes.

‘Ray told me you went to see him,’ Abby said, grasping for some kind of control. ‘Did he mention he was up for parole? He’ll be out soon, John. This is nearly over.’

‘It’ll never be over,’ he said. ‘And honestly, I can’t understand how you can’t see that. We made a mistake, Abby. We have to fix it. We have to come clean. The three of us. You, me and Eddie.’

‘It wouldn’t change anything,’ she whispered.

‘It’ll change everything.’

A sudden gale rolled off the bay.

‘Ninety-eight-sixty,’ Abby said.

‘What?’

‘That’s how much you owe.’

He glared at her a moment, then shook his head slowly. He paid in cash, then took a pen from his breast pocket and scribbled his phone number and address on the back of his receipt. He handed it to Abby.

‘Come by the house tonight at eight o’clock,’ he said. ‘You and Eddie. The three of us can plan how we’re going to move forward. But you need to understand something, Abby. This isn’t up for discussion. I’m not asking for your permission and I don’t need Eddie’s either. I need to do this, and it can be with or without you.’

He picked up his groceries and walked out. He didn’t look back once. When he was gone, Abby braced herself on her register and started to cry.

The last time she drove out to South Hallston to see Ray, they’d sat together at a steel table in the visitor hall and ate lunch from the vending machines.

‘How are the kids?’ he asked.

‘Oh, you know,’ Abby said. ‘Angels and devils.’

‘Has Lori called?’

‘Not for a while, but she’s like a sea turtle, that one. She has to come up for air eventually, and when she does, I’ll strangle her with my love.’

‘Give her an extra choke for me,’ Ray said. ‘And Eddie?’

‘Ed is, well. Ed.’

‘Is he seeing anyone?’

‘If he is, he hasn’t told me about it.’

‘You look great.’