She was feeling fairly morose as she pushed Elliot through the shops in her pram. She’d sent Jill and Andrea home in an Uber each and now she was trying to get some Christmas shopping done. But she was struggling to focus. Initially, she’d felt quite proud of herself for remaining sober despite there being three bottles of wine on offer throughout lunch. But now after hearing that both Jill and Andrea agreed something wasn’t right with Callie, she was wishing she’d had a few glasses. She was also a little irritated that Jill hadn’t told her about Callie coming to see her sooner. Jill knew she was worried, she should have called her right away.

She supposed that’s why when she passed the bottle shop she felt like she kind of deserved something for herself. A bottle of gin to keep at home so she could enjoy the odd summer drink . . . not as many as she’d had with Leesa when she’d ended up in Edna’s rhododendron bushes, but enough to help her relax. For instance, a treat this afternoon to congratulate herself for not drinking wine over lunch.

And then later that afternoon, there was a voice inside her head telling her it wasn’t the smartest move as she poured the gin into the half-empty bottle of diet lemonade. But there was a louder voice, telling her it was fine, she was just being sensible. Making things more convenient. Mixing a drink each time would be annoying.

She was confident no one would drink from that bottle because no one else in the house liked diet soft drinks. And she wasn’t doing it to be secretive, she just wasn’t sure what Pete would think if he saw her mixing up a gin now and then during the week. Besides, it wasn’t like she’d lie outright if he asked her what she was drinking.

Anyway, apart from one small drink today, she’d try to save the rest for Friday.

So, the thing was, she didn’t have a problem.

CHRISTMAS EVE

Darren stared at the other cars.

What the hell?

Wasn’t that Tony’s Lexus? Tipped on its side? And Mimi’s SUV?

It couldn’t be. He stumbled back further from Jill’s car to focus properly on the other crumpled vehicles. It was. That was Pete and Mimi. That meant the twins would be in the back.

And the fourth car. That was Andrea’s convertible. With Andrea passed out alone in the driver’s seat.

What had happened here? How had his entire family ended up in this horrific mess?

What was he meant to do now? Who did he go to?

That’s when he heard the screams start up. A horrible guttural sound. A sound of pure pain and anguish.

Chapter Thirteen

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Wednesday 16 December

Darren