A few years ago, Chloe had found a Facebook post from someone in their local area. This person had lost her phone and had asked all her friends to post their numbers on the page so that she could put them all in her new one. And there, on the page, had been Louella Lister – usually so careful, with her profile locked down – her number in blue and white on the screen.

Chloe had written it down, agonizingly careful not to make a mistake, and kept a copy. If she was honest with herself, she probably knew the number off by heart. Very occasionally, she allowed herself to call it from a withheld number, to make sure that it was still in service. But she had never spoken to Louella. She had never known what to say.

Chloe dialled the number now, her whole body vibrating with excitement, fear and horror at what she was about to do. And on the third ring, a voice, one that sounded less like Zadie’s than Chloe had hoped, answered.

‘Hello?’

Chloe swallowed. She had planned what she was going to say. But now all the words had dried up.

‘Hello?’

‘Hi,’ she forced out. ‘Hi, Louella. It’s Chloe here. I was a friend of’ – she swallowed – ‘Zadie’s. We lived together at university.’

Would her family know that had been a lie? That they hadn’t really lived together?

Louella’s voice was guarded. Hostile. ‘I remember,’ she said. ‘Can I help?’ If she was confused about how Chloe had got hold of her number, she wasn’t saying anything. Maybe her phone had been ringing a lot recently.

‘I heard what happened. I read about it. I just wanted to call – I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am for your loss. That I’m thinking of you all – that …’

Louella’s breathing was audible. ‘That’s very kind,’ she said. Her voice was tight and clipped.

‘I wish I could have done something,’ Chloe ventured, deviating from the script she had written herself. ‘I wish I could have helped.’

‘We all do,’ Louella said, softening. ‘But there’s no one to blame. Apart from that psycho she was seeing at university.’

Chloe’s blood stopped in her veins. ‘What?’

‘Nothing.’ Louella clearly regretted having said anything. She must think Chloe had no idea about any of it. ‘You’re very kind to call. I’ll pass your condolences on to the rest of the family. Goodbye.’

For the first time, perhaps, in her life, Chloe knew exactly what she needed to do.