He opens his mouth, closes it, then surprises me by laughing. “You’re right. It’s this place, isn’t it? Being back here with everyone. We all fall into the roles given us a long time ago. Me, the bad guy, you, the grumpy mouse.”

My fingernails dig into my palms. That’s not who I am. That’s never who I was.

“I’m not trying to be mean,” he continues. “But it’s true, isn’t it? You think Lena is really still such a wild child away from here, at the age of twenty-eight? And you’re a teacher, bet you’re totally different in your real life.” He shakes his head. “It’s why I’d never dream of going back to a school reunion or shit like that. The kid everyone bullied could be CEO of the biggest fucking company in the world, but the moment he stepped into that reunion, he’d be the scared victim again.”

“So it’s not real, is it—Jack the bad guy?”

He smiles. “About as real as Tess the scared mouse is now.” He pauses. “But I was given my role a long time before I ever met you. Harder to break.” He glances up at the house. “Especially when it’s your own mother who made you the bad guy.”

I wait for him to go inside first, taking a steadying breath. He’s unsettled me, thrown me off balance. He’s right. We’ve all come back and slotted into the same roles and I’m as guilty as anyone of putting Jack straight back into the bad-guy slot. But I won’t let myself feel sorry for him because I don’t think it’s just a role he’s playing.

I open the front door and drop my bag on the floor. I’m already wishing I hadn’t said anything to Sophie. And I didn’t, really. I didn’t tell her anything, same as I didn’t tell the police anything. But that’s the problem, isn’t it? The more I don’t tell, the more I have to hide. Oh God—why didn’t I just say I knew him? That I used to do his bloody gardening—that’s all I had to say. Maybe I should…I could call the station and…and…but they’ll want to know why I lied. And that leads to the fight I had with Bella and that would look so bad.

No. I can’t call them now. It’s not like I did anything, is it? Not like I put Greg Lewis in the ground. I hear Dad’s voice and poke my head into the kitchen to say hello, but he’s on the phone, a frown on his face, and he doesn’t even look at me.

Dad puts the phone down and I stare at him.

“What’s wrong?”