Abs suspected Deano would try to drag them all through the mud, and Abs especially, as he was the last person other than him to see the girl alive. Deano’s lawyers would be sure to throw suspicion in his direction.

As a much-loved celebrity, Abs would be crucified in the press. Instead of strangers greeting him in the street like an old mate, they would shout cruel and untrue things at him. Murderer! Scumbag! Killer!

He’d lose Kelsey forever.

He had never looked for trouble in his life, he had never hurt a fly. All Abs had ever wanted to be was a nice guy, to be liked and loved, but the universe had played this nasty trick on him. Oh God, that poor girl. Abs would do anything to turn the clock back and make Rhiannon safe again, but it was all too late, because she was dead. He couldn’t bear to look at her body, especially because of what he was about to say…

‘We can go to the police, yes, or we can do something else.’

‘What are you talking about?’ Tony placed his hands on his hips. ‘We have to call the cops.’

Deano let out a little groan of despair.

‘We could do that, of course we could,’ Abs said carefully. ‘Or we could take her body somewhere else, somewhere far away, so it looks like she got lost and fell in a ditch or something.’

‘She’s been strangled,’ said Tony. ‘Of course she didn’t fall.’

‘Or… or…’ Abs had no choice but to say it outright. ‘We could bury her. Find a spot up a mountain or in a river, somewhere that even if they do find her eventually, all the evidence will have long eroded away.’

Tony stared, incredulous, and Jez looked up sharply.

‘Think about it.’ Abs moved around the clearing, maintaining eye contact with them all. ‘We all have lots to lose here. Careers, family, loved ones. Jez?’ He knew that his best friend would be the toughest nut to crack. Jez was the most upstanding person Abs had ever met, and he needed him on board to have any chance of making this work. ‘You’ll lose Bethany, she won’t want to be with you. Is that what you want?’

Jez’s gaze dropped to the floor. ‘Abs—’

‘Let me finish, mate. If we tell people what happened, we’ll all be held responsible. We’ll all likely go to prison for something we didn’t do.’ He gestured at Deano. ‘For something this idiot did.’

Brittle-skinned Deano would usually bite back at being insulted, but this morning – devastated, wracked with guilt and shame – he dropped his head.

Jez shook his head. ‘Maybe it’s not what it looks like.’