‘Bones. Now that is creepy,’ Naomi says quietly, her long, thin fingers tapping at her chin. Her nails are polished a bright coral, unchipped despite her hours spent tying florist wire and clipping stems and I resist the urge to curl my bitten fingernails into my palm. ‘Allie, it sounds obvious but are you sure you’re not missing pearls off anything you own? A decorative button off a cardigan or anything? One of those fancy purses you used to use?’

‘No,’ I say bluntly. ‘Naomi, I am not hysterical, no matter what Rav might be thinking. I am perfectly rational.’ I’m glad now that I didn’t bring up seeing the two of them together in the pub, suddenly sure that Naomi would use my words against me to convince Rav that I’m going mad.

‘Yes. It is strange, and I’m not disputing that, but they are just pearls. Someone probably snapped a necklace and they’ve just ended up turning up around the place.’ A man’s hand reaching out to Agnes’s throat as she is marched away, grasping the pearls and pulling, the gems bouncing across the floor as her mouth twists in a snarl. I blink and the image disappears.

‘What about the bones?’ Anxiety makes me jittery, and I want to get up and pace the floor, my swollen ankle holding me back. ‘Who the hell ties bones into a tree? Miranda called this place the witch house.’ I pause. ‘Maybe the bones appeared because of the charm.’

‘Charm? What charm?’ Naomi looks confused, her brows burrowing into a sharp V.

‘Remember the keys, and the feather in the attic? I went to see the old lady who used to live here – she told me it was a charm, hidden to keep the house quiet.’

‘Could the bones be some sort of charm? Something similar?’

‘No.’ I shake my head. ‘It’s hard to explain. They feel … different.’ Darker, somehow. ‘They feel like a threat, a warning. I don’t know. Maybe I need another charm to hide back under the floorboards.’

‘Superstition?’ Naomi raises an eyebrow at me. ‘Come on, Allie, you’re the least superstitious person I know. You don’t believe in charms. I bet this Miranda has pink hair and wears tie-dyed dresses.’

I let the corners of my mouth lift in some semblance of a smile. ‘You’re not far off.’

‘See? I bet she makes it her life’s mission to bring up witches and throw them in people’s faces every chance she gets. I bet she carries a sage stick in her mirror-covered knapsack.’