I needed to talk to someone. I wondered about messaging Lucy but it didn’t really seem appropriate, given the fact that she was probably worn out and busy with the baby. She didn’t need my own troubles on top of her own. There was no one else around I could tell, only Mrs Barley; I wasn’t sure I wanted to share the news with her, but I desperately needed to be with someone. I stumbled out into the garden, tears streaming down my face, the dog close behind me.

Seeing me, the old woman came anxiously out of the summer house. Corvus, her crow companion, must have been sitting with her. He followed her out and, seeing Jobie, took to the air.

‘Whatever is it, love? Are you all right?’

The words I didn’t want to believe tumbled out. ‘Oh God, Mrs Barley, I’ve just had some terrible news. My friend is dead. She’s been killed. It’s so horrible.’

‘You poor thing. What an awful shock. Was that your friend who visited a few weeks ago with the red car?’

I nodded, shaking violently as the sobs tore through my whole body. The pain was physical, a deep ache within the solar plexus.

‘Come on, let me make you a cup of tea and you can tell me all about it.’

We sat in the summer house, Jobie at my feet, his concerned eyes never leaving my face. Everything poured from me almost involuntarily. I told Mrs Barley about Akhmad; about poor Reggie’s miserable upbringing and how she had worked so hard to put it behind her. I told her about her kindness, her sense of humour and how she had been such a good friend to me; how I had been able to trust her enough to share secrets about my own past with her, even things I could never tell Jack.

‘And now I’ll never see her again. I can’t get my head round it. She was a force of nature – always so full of energy. It’s just not fair.’

Mrs Barley’s voice was quiet and measured. ‘It’s a terrible blow, when someone is taken from us so suddenly. It will take a while for it to sink in properly, I’m afraid. There are all sorts of emotions to struggle with. You’ll need time. But eventually you’ll remember the good times you shared, even smile about the silly things that you argued over.’ She squeezed my hand. ‘It may not feel like it now, but the pain will lessen. You will make other friends.’

Her closing remark seemed insensitive. I didn’t want to make other friends. I just wanted Reggie back.