‘How are you getting on with the pitch?’ Harry asked her.

‘It’s going well,’ Laura replied with a modesty that grated on Janie, though she detected something else in Laura’s voice too, which made her think things might not be going quite that smoothly.

‘That’s great – really great. See, I knew you could do it.’

‘I only hope he likes my ideas,’ Laura said. ‘If he doesn’t …’ Again the sentence was cut short. ‘Miles Morgan strikes me as someone who could be a hard man to please,’ she went on, her voice fading.

Janie’s heart stopped beating. Just for a moment. Her breath caught in her throat before she released it in a sharp puff, poking her head round the doorway in time to see her husband and Laura disappearing into the kitchen.

Miles Morgan. Laura had spoken those words so casually. She’d have no idea that the mere sound of that man’s name could just have tipped Janie’s world on its axis.

She pulled herself out of her hiding place and followed in the wake of her husband’s footsteps. So Harry had brought that man into her life again. Did he really have no clue what it would do to her? And not only that – he was doing work for Miles. The man must have been in Lymington. She shuddered at the thought, her mind whirling.

Was Harry planning to bring him to the house?

Janie scanned the kitchen, catching a fleeting glimpse of her husband in the garden, guests milling around him, blurring into one. She clutched the counter beside her, fingers gripping it tightly as she felt the air leave her body. She wanted to cut through the guests to get to Harry and demand that he tell her what was going on. Did he really think so little of her that he could do this to her?

Thursday 16 May

Interview between DC Emily Marlow and Janie Wood, following the fire on Monday 13 May

Marlow:What I can’t get my head round is that you didn’t tell anyone else you thought someone was watching you. Not even your husband?

Janie:No. I told you. I didn’t tell anyone.

Marlow:Why was that?

Janie:Because … I don’t know. I think I just wanted to pretend it wasn’t happening. I didn’t want to admit it was.

Marlow:Not because you didn’t think your husband would believe you?

Janie:No. That’s not it.

Marlow:But you have children in the house. Didn’t their safety cross your mind?

Janie:Of course it did. Of course. My children mean everything to me.

Marlow:Janie, you’ll need to calm down.

Janie:(pauses) My children are my world, but in this case – I guess I didn’t think there was anything to worry about. I didn’t feel threatened. Not at the time anyway.