“Dangerous? Really? Tess, whatever the hell is going on here, it’s not good. You should come back home.”

“How can I? Look, I went over there. To Dean House. And I found Bella’s shoes—they’ve been missing since she died. Someone left them there for me and…and…Please. Look at the photos I sent you.”

She hesitates and sighs. “Hang on, I’ll have a look.”

I wait, my teeth clenched, for her to come back on the line.

“What is it you want me to see?” she says. “They’re just snapshots, aren’t they? Of your sister and…”

“Look at the way Greg’s looking at her. And the other one—it’s Bella and Sean. They look like they’re together, right?”

There’s a long pause. “I don’t know. It just looks like the camera caught her and Greg mid-conversation. And the one with Sean? I don’t…I don’t get why it’s a big deal even if they were together. It was ten years ago, wasn’t it?”

“I always thought it was Jack she was with. But when I saw that photo…if they were together, it gives him a motive. It gives both of them a motive, doesn’t it? A love triangle.”

“Tess…they’re not investigating your sister’s death, are they? You told me it was an accident. I know you had that weird dream, but that’s not proof of anything. Shouldn’t you be concentrating on Greg’s death, on sorting things out with the police so you’re not lying to them?”

I look round, check the door is still closed and no one is listening in.

“It’s all related, I know it is. Whoever’s messing with me knows something about how Bella died. Otherwise, why leave the shoes? Why take my phone and send texts?”

She doesn’t believe me. I can tell by the frown on her face and I can’t blame her. I’m rambling, sounding paranoid, sounding bloody insane. If I left now, went back to my old life, how long before the distance made me not believe it myself? It would take on the patina of an old fairy tale. And I’d be letting Dad and Julia down.

I shake my head but there are tears in my eyes. “I can’t leave. I’m sorry, Sophie, I’m not coming back. I’m going to take a landscape gardening course at a local college near here and stay with Dad.”

“You’re not coming back at all? But…you have to apply for the course and get in. I thought you’d come back for a while at least. You can’t just abandon your whole life. What about your flat? Your friends? What about me?”

“I’m sorry, but I have to be here. For Julia. For Dad.”