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‘Congrats,’ Arlo said. ‘I love the boys but my parents reckon that whenever I’m with my nephews, which isn’t often, I “drive them into a frenzy”.’

‘Isn’t frenzy a little boy’s default setting?’

‘Yep. Plus they go wild when Pongo’s around, chasing him round the gardens and round the house. He loves it and I refuse to leave him here with friends or put him in kennels. Where I go, Pongo goes. And anyway, I’ve been away myself in the past, working …’ He stood up, stretching his arms above his head, and Katie couldn’t help but notice how tall he was. ‘So no, I suppose Christmas isn’t a big deal in our family.’

‘I used to love it,’ Katie said in response, smiling to herself at some memories of Christmas when she was a kid. ‘I remember getting up at five a.m. with Lou and starting to open presents before Mum and Dad had woken up …’ She grimaced. ‘Then there was the time I wolfed a whole selection box and felt rotten all Christmas night. Most of it was a lot of fun, though. My parents are big on Christmas – real tree, tons of decs, a turkey the size of Wales.’

Arlo laughed out loud and it suited him. ‘It sounds great to me … yet I couldn’t help picking up on that phrase “used to love Christmas”.’

‘A slip of the tongue,’ she joked. ‘I still do love it. Obviously or I wouldn’t have rented this place.’ Last year’s hadn’t been so great, Katie thought, but she wasn’t going to make the conversation complicated. ‘I’m sorry you don’t really celebrate.’

He shrugged. ‘It’s fine. I enjoy making sure guests have a good time.’ He collected his plate and mug from the coffee table. ‘It’s a busy day tomorrow too. Do you want to come over and meet your guests at the jetty or stay in the house?’

‘Oh, I want to meet them! I can’t wait to see their faces when the launch turns up.’

‘Ah. Well, I can guarantee I’ll make sure it turns up on time tomorrow.’

Taking the hint that Arlo no longer wanted to talk, Katie went up to bed but heard vague sounds of Arlo and Pongo downstairs for a while, along with the hoots of owls outside her window which were surprisingly loud. Other than that, there was complete silence.

She thought she heard floorboards creak and a low woof as she nodded off but the comfy bed and the long journey soon lulled her and she fell asleep thinking how pleased she was that Arlo had offered to stay. She wasn’t sure she’d have got a wink otherwise.

Katie! Katie! Oh God, Katie. No. Katie.

Katie’s eyes opened slowly.

‘Katie. Are you OK? We’re here. We’ll help you. Can you move? KatieKatieKatie.’

The voices were distant, and faces swam in and out of focus. The smell of smoke and the stench of burning filled her nose and she coughed.

‘Owww …’ Her chest felt heavy.

‘Katie. You’re OK. It’s Ned.’

Ned’s dark hair was so close to her face, she could feel it brushing her cheek. His voice sounded far away.

Katie tried to sit up but her legs wouldn’t move.

‘I told you this would happen. I told you not to take the train.’

‘Wanda?’

Ned’s face had been replaced by Wanda looming over her, wagging her finger. ‘I told you not to go. I told you not to do it. I toldyoutoldyounottttt …’

‘It’s my life!’ Katie tried to shout at Wanda but no sound came out and then she was opening her eyes to a bunch of people whose faces she couldn’t make out. She still couldn’t move or speak, even though she was trying to ask, over and over, ‘Where’s Ned? Where’s Ned?’

Yet someone must have heard her because one of the faces answered her, matter-of-factly. ‘He didn’t make it.’

Katie’s scream felt as though it were ripping her apart.

CHAPTER THREE

‘Pongo! Stop it! What the hell’s the matter?’

Arlo sat bolt upright in bed. Pongo loomed over him, paws astride his body, barking in his face. He could smell the liver on his breath.

‘Pongo! For God’s sake, be quiet!’

Heart hammering from being woken so suddenly, his first thought was that someone had broken into the house even though it was, or ought to be, impossible.