The day after Sophie had admitted what had happened Janie had broken down in front of her husband, hysterical that if it hadn’t been for her, Sophie wouldn’t have gone through what she did.

‘You must have known what he was like,’ Janie had said to Harry, though she wasn’t sure what she expected from him – maybe to be told that he had no idea; or that he was trying to protect her job by not telling her the truth. All she had wanted was for Harry to support her, but what he had said was, ‘So must you.’ In that moment she’d seen a flash in his eyes of something ugly, something that looked like: Don’t put this on me.

Janie wanted to tell Mia she didn’t have everything, because from that moment on, something had broken between her and her husband – something they had never been able to get back.

But she also knew it would make no difference to Mia.

‘My sister’s life is ruined because of you.’ Mia was prodding her finger at Janie’s chest. ‘She lost her job, she lost her confidence. She doesn’t leave the house,’ she cried, her voice rising. ‘She has no friends any more – she does nothing. She’s in a bloody wheelchair because she couldn’t face living any more.’

‘What?’ Laura murmured, stepping forward. ‘What happened?’

‘She drove herself into a tree. Only it didn’t go according to plan. She survived.’

‘I’m so sorry,’ Laura said. ‘I can’t even imagine how hard that is.’ She paused. ‘But it’s Miles you should be blaming. He’s the one who did this, not Janie.’

‘No. She’s right,’ Janie said. ‘If I hadn’t defended him, Miles should have been locked up. He should have got what he deserved so he wasn’t able to assault anyone else.’

Laura hesitated. The scene in Harry’s office only hours ago hit her again and she wondered if somehow Janie knew. But she couldn’t have known, could she? There was no way. And much as Laura had a sudden urge to share with these two women what Miles had just been like with her, she knew that if she did, she would effectively be giving them a reason for her to have lit the fire.

In the end she simply said, ‘But if you didn’t defend him, someone else would have.’

Friday 17 May

Interview between DC Emily Marlow and Mia Anderson, following the fire on Monday 13 May

Marlow:This interview is taking place at 1100 hours on Friday 17 May. Mia Anderson, please can you tell me what has brought you into the station this morning?

Mia:I want to tell you what happened.

Marlow:Okay. Go ahead.

Mia:(pauses)

Marlow:Mia, you’re doing the right thing. Coming here today, it’s taking a lot of guts – I can see that.

Mia:(nods) What’s she saying?