Pip rolled her eyes. Ravi must have forgotten he was dying of a hangover; absolutely zero willpower in the presence of sandwiches.

Pip settled on the far table, Cara taking the seat beside her, shoulders brushing together. Cara had never understood the concept of personal space, and yet, sitting here now, Pip was grateful for it. Cara wasn’t even supposed to be here any more, in Little Kilton. Her grandparents had planned to put the Wards’ house up for sale at the end of the school year. But minds changed and plans changed: Naomi found a job nearby in Slough, and Cara had decided to take a gap year to go travelling, working at the café to save up money. Suddenly, taking the Ward sisters out of Little Kilton was more complicated than leaving them here, so the grandparents were back in Great Abington, and Cara and Naomi were still in town. At least until next year. Now Cara would be the one left behind, when Pip left for Cambridge in a few weeks.

Pip couldn’t believe it would really happen, that Little Kilton would ever let her get away.

She nudged Cara back. ‘So, how’s Steph?’ she asked.

Steph: the new girlfriend. Although it had been a couple of months now, so maybe Pip shouldn’t think of her as new any more. The world moved on, even if she couldn’t. And Pip liked her; she was good for Cara, made her happy.

‘Yeah, she’s good. Training for a triathlon or something because she’s actually insane. Oh, wait, you’d take her side now wouldn’t you, Miss Runs-a-lot.’

‘Yep.’ Pip nodded. ‘Definitely Team Steph. She’d be a great asset in a zombie apocalypse.’

‘So would I,’ Cara said.

Pip pulled a face at her. ‘You would die within the first half an hour of any apocalypse scenario, let’s be honest.’

Ravi came over then, placing a tray down with their coffees and his sandwich. He’d already taken a massive bite before carrying it over, of course.

‘Oh, so,’ Cara lowered her voice, ‘big drama here this morning.’

‘What?’ Ravi asked between bites.

‘We suddenly had a bit of a rush, so there was a queue, and I was at the till taking orders. And then,’ her voice was a whisper now, ‘Max Hastings came in.’

Pip’s shoulders arched and her jaw tensed. Why was he everywhere? Why could she never get away from him?

‘I know,’ Cara said, reading Pip’s face. ‘And obviously I wasn’t going to serve him, so I told Jackie I’d clean the milk frother while she dealt with the customers. She took Max’s order, and then someone else came in.’ She paused for dramatic effect. ‘Jason Bell.’

‘Oh, really?’ Ravi said.

‘Yeah, he was standing in line behind Max. And even though I was trying to hide from them, I could see him kind of eyeballing the back of Max’s head.’

‘Understandably,’ Pip said. Jason Bell had just as much reason to hate Max Hastings as she did. Whatever the outcome of the trial, Max had drugged and raped his youngest daughter, Becca. And as horrific and unspeakable as that was, it was even worse than that. Max’s actions were the catalyst for Andie Bell’s death. You might even say a direct cause. Everything came back to Max Hastings, when you really thought about it: Becca traumatized, letting Andie die in front of her and covering it up. Sal Singh dead, believed to be Andie’s killer. That poor woman in Elliot Ward’s loft. Pip’s project. Her dog, Barney, buried in the back garden. Howie Bowers in prison, sharing whispers about Child Brunswick. Charlie Green arriving in town. Layla Mead. Jamie Reynolds missing. Stanley Forbes dead and blood on Pip’s hands. She could trace it all back to Max Hastings. The origin. Her cornerstone. And maybe Jason Bell’s too.

‘I mean, yeah,’ Cara said, ‘but I wasn’t expecting the next part. So, Jackie handed Max his drink, and as he was turning to walk away, Jason held out his elbow and nudged right into Max. Spilled coffee all down his T-shirt.’

‘No?’ Ravi stared at Cara.

‘I know.’ Her whispers strained into an excitable hiss. ‘And then Max was like, “Watch where you’re going,” and shoved him back. And Jason grabbed Max’s collar and said, “You stay out of my way,” or something like that. But anyway, by this point Jackie had inserted herself between them, and then this other customer escorted Max out of the café and apparently he was going on about “You’ll hear from my lawyer”, or something.’

‘Sounds like Max,’ Pip said, pushing the words through her gritted teeth. She shivered. The air felt different now she knew he’d been here too. Stuffy. Cold. Tainted. Little Kilton was just not big enough for both of them.

‘Naomi’s been wondering what to do about Max,’ Cara continued, so quiet you couldn’t even call it a whisper any more. ‘Whether she should go to the police, tell them about New Year 2012 – you know, the hit-and-run. Even though she’ll get in trouble, she’s saying at least it will get Max in trouble too, as he was the one driving. Maybe it’s a way of putting him behind bars, at least for a short while, so he can’t hurt anyone else. And put an end to this ridiculous lawsuit thi—’

‘No,’ Pip cut across her. ‘Naomi can’t go to the police. It won’t work. She’ll only be hurting herself and nothing will happen to him. Max will win again.’

‘But at least the truth will be out and Naomi –’

‘The truth doesn’t matter,’ Pip said, digging her nails into her thigh. The Pip from last year wouldn’t recognize this one today. That lively-eyed girl and her school project, naïvely clinging to the truth, wrapping it around herself like a blanket. But the Pip sitting here was a different person and she knew better. The truth had burned her too many times; it couldn’t be trusted. ‘Tell her not to, Cara. She didn’t hit that man and she didn’t want to leave him, she was coerced. Tell her I promise I will get him. I don’t know how, but I will do it. Max will get exactly what he deserves.’

Ravi stretched an arm around Pip’s shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. ‘Or, you know, instead of revenge plots, we could focus our energy on going off to university in a few weeks,’ he said brightly. ‘You haven’t even picked out a new duvet set; I’m told that’s a very important milestone.’

Pip knew that Ravi and Cara had just flashed each other a look. ‘I’m fine,’ she said.

Cara looked like she was about to say something more, but her eyes drew up as the bell jangled above the café door. Pip turned to follow her gaze. If it was Max Hastings, she didn’t know what she might do, she –

‘Ah, hello gang,’ said a voice Pip knew well.

Connor Reynolds. She smiled and waved at him. But it wasn’t just Connor, Jamie was here too, closing the café door with another chime of the bell. He spotted Pip a moment later and a grin split his face, wrinkling his freckled nose. Frecklier now, after the summer. And she would know; she’d spent that entire week he was missing studying photos of his face, searching his eyes for answers.

‘Fancy seeing you guys here,’ Jamie said, overtaking Connor as he strolled towards their table. He placed a fleeting hand on Pip’s shoulder. ‘Hey, how’re you doing? Can I get you guys a drink or something?’