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She was too caught up in her anger to stop. ‘I see it now. She’s terrified of her husband, because of what you did, but she also knows you’re a weirdo. She doesn’t think you’re the psychopath that you are, she just thinks you’re a bit crazy, and she wants nothing to do with you. So off she goes, hoping never to see you again.’

She laughed.

‘I can only imagine how dismayed she was when you walked up to her in that park. She must have thought Oh God, not this whack job, how the fuck do I get away from him again?’

‘Stop it.’ Ryan’s jaw was clenched, his lips pressed together, thin and white. ‘Stop it, now.’

‘Did she give you a phone number, Ryan?’

Ryan didn’t reply.

‘Did she? She did, didn’t she? Have you called it, Ryan?’

‘I will, when you’re dead.’

‘Try it now,’ Mary said. ‘I’ll bet you it’s a fake number.’

The corner of his mouth twitched.

‘You’re wrong.’

And then she understood.

‘You’ve tried it already, haven’t you, Ryan? Oh my God, you tried it already and it didn’t work.’ She laughed. ‘What did you tell yourself, Ryan? That she wrote it down wrong? Got her own number wrong, by accident?’

She shook her head.

‘That doesn’t happen.’

‘She told me the number and I wrote it down,’ he said, his voice a low growl. ‘I must have misheard one of the numbers.’

‘I see. And you’ve been trying out different combinations ever since, right?’

‘It doesn’t matter. I made a mistake, but I have her address.’

‘You think? I’m guessing she’s moved already, Ryan. That’s what I’d do. Christ, it must hurt to know that tomorrow you’ll have done all this for nothing. I get it you’re still clinging on—’

He moved suddenly and swiftly across the room. His fist connected with the side of her face and pain bloomed in her mind. This was no open-handed slap; this was a full-blooded punch.

Her vision darkened, and she felt herself swimming at the edge of consciousness. She forced herself to stay alert.

‘You fucking bitch!’ he screamed, his face twisted and red. ‘You useless whore! I should kill you right now, but I’m not going to.’ He stared at her. ‘What I’m going to do, you fucking bitch, is go and get some firewood, and then go and get your children so I can slit their throats in front of you. How about that, bitch? That’ll be the last thing you see before you choke on the smoke and watch the flames lick up around your body.’

It turned out it could get worse. She closed her eyes. When she opened them, he was gone.

I Needed a Moment

It hadn’t worked.

‘Mary,’ Carl said. ‘I—’

‘Shhh.’

She didn’t want to talk to him. She didn’t want to talk to anyone. She was exhausted. She had no idea how she had ended up here and all she wanted to do was to melt into the mattress.

She turned to Carl. ‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘I needed a moment.’

‘That’s OK. It’s a bit of a stressful situation.’