You still should have shared it with me. We’re partners. We always will be.

‘I was afraid,’ she told him. ‘He’s still our son. And I didn’t know what you might do.’

He reached across and touched her hand on the steering wheel. Yes, you do. You know what I would have done.

‘You would have done the right thing.’

Jill, are our granddaughters in danger?

Tears streamed down Jill’s face. They blurred her vision. ‘They might be. Tony might have . . . I think there’s a chance he’s already harmed Callie.’

He squeezed her hand. Do the right thing, be brave.

She phoned Mimi.

*

Mimi

A sick feeling was rising up inside Mimi. When she spoke again, her voice had become hard.

‘Jill,’ she said, ‘what does that mean?’

‘I don’t . . . I’m not . . .’ Jill stumbled over her words.

‘Jill!’ Mimi cut through her waffling. ‘You need to be straight with me right now.’ She could feel Pete glancing at her sideways, shocked at the tone she was taking with his mother, but Mimi didn’t care. This was her daughter, she needed to know what was going on.

‘I don’t think Callie and Tara should be alone with him in his car.’

‘Why, what has he done?’

‘I think he might have . . .’

‘Jill, for God’s sake, he might have what?’

‘I can’t . . . I don’t want to say it. Don’t make me say the words.’

‘Oh my God, Jill, do you mean . . .’

Jill let out a sob and the line went dead. Mimi held still for a moment, breathing hard as she attempted to process exactly what her mother-in-law had just said. Surely, she couldn’t mean Tony was capable of actually hurting the girls. He was Pete’s brother! He was their uncle. But then, at the same time, the implication was clear. Why would Jill make that up? She wouldn’t. It made no sense.

Mimi twisted around in her seat. ‘Where’s Tony’s car?’ she snapped.

‘I think they’re behind us, why? What’s going on?’

Mimi turned back to her husband. ‘We have to get the girls away from Tony.’

*

Callie

Callie knew the moment Tara said she wanted to go in Tony’s car that she couldn’t let that happen. Not by herself. She’d almost spilled it all out to her mother then and there. But she didn’t know how . . . she didn’t know what to say.

And then there was the fear — what if no one believed her? Tony would deny it. He’d say she was making up stories. What if they all looked at her like she was a lying, conniving slut? So the only solution was to go along with Tara. Safety in numbers.