As soon as we’re inside the flat, she turns to wrap me in a hug. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” she mutters as she steers me to the sofa. “Is it Julia? Did she die?”

I shake my head. “No, it’s not Julia.”

She lets out a long breath. “Oh, thank God. I thought…you were so upset.” She looks over at me and frowns. “What happened to your face?”

I touch the fading bruise. “Oh yeah, long story. Minor car accident, but don’t worry, I’m fine.”

“You’re fine? Tess, you are clearly not fine.”

“I’m sorry. I freaked out. I was panicking and I just needed to see you. There’s been…a lot going on.” An echo of Bella snorts laughter in my head at the understatement. I keep looking straight ahead, irrationally afraid that if I turn my head, it won’t be Sophie sitting next to me, it’ll be Bella, mud and leaves in her hair, dripping blood onto the sofa.

“I came from the police station,” I say, and there’s a wobble in my voice. I swallow and try to keep it together. “They found…they found a body. At Dean House. Julia’s old house.”

“What? Fuck!”

“It’s Greg.”

“Who’s Greg?”

“He’s Julia’s ex. Jack and Sean’s dad.”

“Shit.”

“And he was…” I pause. “I knew him.”

Sophie’s chewing her lip, waiting for me to say more.

I take a deep breath. “I knew him as more than Julia’s ex, or the boys’ dad. And I…” I can feel sweat building under my hairline. “I lied to the police about it. I told them I barely knew him.”

“Is it…is it suspicious, then? But you haven’t been there. Why would they speak to you?”

“He was buried in the woods. Nothing left but bones. He’s been there a long time. He went missing, you see, right before Dad and Julia’s wedding.”

“When you were still there. Oh crap. And you lied? Why?”

“Because I did something terrible,” I burst out. “No,” I say at the look on her face. “Not that—it wasn’t me. But if I tell the police I knew him, and I tell them what I did, it’s going to look bad, Soph.”

My hands are trembling as I wait for her to ask.

“I don’t want to know,” Sophie says.

“What?”

“Don’t tell me, Tess. If I don’t know, I can’t…I won’t lie for you. Not to the police. And if what you did was so terrible, I couldn’t not tell them. So don’t tell me at all.”