Amy had always been mean, joking nastily that Liv was no Julia Roberts. Robin wasn’t going to turn up and sweep her off her feet. But he’s always been in her thoughts – a low-level hum, distracting her when she wants it the least. She’s always had a soft spot for him – that frown, the silent, haunted expression.

But he is no innocent. Liv knows that Robin has his secrets, too.

Thoughts of sleep evaporated, Liv reaches up and switches the light on. She swings her legs round to a sit, the baby bouncing happily on her bladder again, then leans uncomfortably to open the bottom drawer in her bedside table. She takes it all the way out, then pulls at the piece of Sellotape holding something tight at the back. A black memory stick.

She holds it in her hand for a moment. When Amy first gave it to her, she’d been confused as to what it was. What had her sister found? A scratchy CCTV file of Robin in a petrol station, talking to a man she recognised as Trevor Stevens. The man that killed Robin’s sister. Who then died, moments after this footage was captured, in a fireball of a car accident, merely a mile down the road. Robin’s encounter with Trevor Stevens minutes before his death has never been mentioned, but Liv knows that this memory stick could open up a can of worms.

She fastens it back into place and returns the drawer into its hole. Now is not the time to dig this up again, she resolves, one hand on her bump as the baby kicks.

She has done without Robin in her life this far; she doesn’t need him now.

She groans, feeling the physical pressure on her bladder. Then she stands up wearily and walks to the toilet again.

20

Friday

Robin races up the A33, cursing himself for leaving Reading last night. But he hadn’t wanted to spend another night in that dratted Travelodge. He’d been desperate for his own bed, then, ironically, waking up at five a.m. on Freya’s sofa, with a crick in his neck. It’s not the first time he’s slept there, and he guesses it won’t be the last.

He left before he saw Freya, hurrying back to his house for a shower and change before hitting the road. He’s already tried to call Craig, but she’s not responding to his voicemail.

He puts the radio on to distract himself, but it doesn’t work. The news is playing out, and the top story is the death of prominent TV presenter and personality Dr Simon Sharp.

‘Cause of death is as yet unconfirmed, although sources report Dr Sharp died in suspicious circumstances, related to the storm on Tuesday night. As yet, no arrests have been made, but pressure is mounting on the Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police to make a statement.’