These attacks have only started since she’s moved here. 18:26
Sarah Ramsay, Noah’s mum
I don’t think we should be accusing anyone of anything. Not without any proof. 18:27
Erin Mackie, Tilly’s mum
I’m not. I’m just working as an investigative journalist – process of elimination. 18:27
Hannah Chapman, Jakob’s mum
Let’s be careful. Nancy hasn’t done anything wrong. 18:28
Lorna Fielding, Phoenix’s mum
I feel sorry for her actually. What with her husband dying recently. 18:28
Erin Mackie, Tilly’s mum
WHAT? 18:28
Lorna Fielding, Phoenix’s mum
Yes. It was a car accident. Tragic. 18:29
Imogen Wood, Rosie’s mum
How do you know all this? 18:30
Lorna Fielding, Phoenix’s mum
She really opened up to me earlier. I felt like she needed a friend actually. It’s all so sad. But fortunately there was a payout. A large one. Seven figures. Plus he had an insurance policy. So at least she’s safe, financially. 18:30
Nicole Wilson, Bella’s mum
Bloody hell. Terrible. But that’s some insurance policy. Willow Barn cost a mill! 18:32
Lorna Fielding, Phoenix’s mum
It’s nice she doesn’t have to worry about the mortgage. Even though it’s very sad of course. 18:34
Erin Mackie, Tilly’s mum
Wow, maybe I should off my husband! 18:34
Lorna Fielding, Phoenix’s mum
No one is suggesting that she killed her husband. 18:35
TWENTY-ONE
October, the previous year
It was night. Dark. She rested her head on the window and looked up at the motorway lights, flashing past in a regular rhythm. It was comforting, added to the content, fulfilled feeling she had after a week’s half-term holiday. They’d been to Cornwall and even though it was October, it had been unseasonably warm; the sun had shone every day.
It was quiet because it was so late. Only a few other cars passed them. And lorries, there were quite a few lorries, getting their goods to their final destination. She liked to look at the number plate country codes. Think of holidays in European lands: Holland, Spain, France. She remembered a trip to Brittany on the ferry a couple of years ago. They had eaten lots of crepes. Played as a family on the beach.
When she saw the lorry move across the lane, she thought it was overtaking at first. But it kept on coming. Closer and closer.
