---

Ella gave a twisted smile. ‘You’ll never understand,’ she said. ‘They deserved it. They all bloody deserved it.’

‘If you explain, I’m sure I would,’ Robyn said.

There wasn’t a flicker of regret or recognition of the crimes she’d committed. Ella Fox had confessed to killing Henry Gregson, Tessa Hall, Anthony Hawkins and Juliet Fallows, but showed no remorse or guilt.

‘They badgered Liam into stealing the ticket, and when he refused, Hawkins threatened him. Hawkins, who’d pretended to be his friend and hooked him up with all the others, was going to make sure Liam lost his job and destroy our lives. Where would we go after that? How would we be able to look after Astra? Liam didn’t want to steal the ticket. We spoke about it after the night they asked him to take it.’ She recalled the evening with clarity…

---

Liam stumbles through the front door and into the kitchen, where Ella is waiting.

‘Hey, babe,’ he says. ‘You okay?’

Hot tears stream down her face. ‘Not really. He was so rough this time. I can’t do it again, Liam. We have to find money for the rent next month. It was bearable when it was quick sex, but he’s started playing games. He blindfolded me, Liam. Like Clark used to.’ The trembling begins again.

He rushes towards her, his face distraught, and pulls her into a tight embrace. ‘I’ll kill the bastard,’ he says, teeth bared.

‘No. Don’t! We’ll try and find somewhere else we can afford.’

They stay entwined, so close their hearts beat as one. Finally, he whispers, ‘There is one way out of this.’

He tells her of the plan. How the team members want him to steal the lottery ticket and how it would be possible to do so. He explains the looks, the smiles and the support from his new friends.

‘Liam, love. They’re not your friends. I see how they laugh behind our backs. I see the nudges and hear the soft sniggers. They’re using you. You, my love, are too gullible.’ She kisses his nose. ‘Don’t do it. It’ll go wrong. A security camera at work will pick you up and you’ll get caught. Tell them to get stuffed. We’ll find another place to live. There must be somewhere we can afford. I can’t face sleeping with McNamara again.’

Liam kisses her head, his heart heavy with sadness. ‘I’ll phone Hawkins and tell him I’m not doing it. I’ll look for a flat for us to rent somewhere else. It won’t be as nice as this place, but as long as we’re together – you, me and Astra – we’ll be fine.’

---

Ella shelved the recollection, stared ahead and continued her monologue. ‘After Liam had taken the ticket, he couldn’t sleep or eat. He cried about it, almost every night. They didn’t care what effect stealing the ticket had on him, but I did. I detested them all – especially that Anthony Hawkins, who sucked up to Liam, all the while taking the piss behind his back. He was behind it all. He knew everything about my brother. He exploited him.’

‘I don’t understand how.’

‘Liam spent six months in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Hawkins was one of the prison officers who worked there – he learnt everything about Liam. When he came across him again, he knew exactly how to push his buttons and manipulate him. He knew Liam had real difficulties connecting with his peers. He’d seen first-hand how Liam retreated when around other people, yet wanted to be accepted. More than anything else, he’s always wanted that. He’s only ever wanted to be loved. Hawkins was never a true friend. None of them were. They suckered him onto the team purely for his intelligence and then they bullied him into taking that ticket. They are all guilty as hell.’

While Robyn could comprehend Ella’s jealous hatred of the team who’d befriended and then browbeaten her brother, she still couldn’t fathom why Ella had gone to such extremes to murder them. She asked the question.

‘If Henry had snitched as he threatened to, every one of them would have crumbled like the cowardly bullies they really are, and made Liam the scapegoat. He’d have ended up in jail. He can’t go back to that place. He suffered such atrocities last time – disgusting, barbaric, humiliating indignities. He’d die. I know he would.’

‘But murder, Ella, brings a severe penalty, and as an accessory, Liam will be charged and go to jail for a long time. The penalty for murder is heftier than for theft.’

‘He’s blameless. It was my idea to kill them and I acted alone without his knowledge, so he can’t be charged.’ Ella’s head bounced from side to side, her eyes unfocused. Robyn persisted.

‘Even if that were so, he’ll still be charged with stealing and defrauding the lottery.’

‘A good lawyer will get him off. Astra needs him.’ Ella smiled suddenly.

Robyn didn’t want to argue any longer. ‘I’m going to leave you for a minute, Ella. Would you like a cup of tea or anything?’

Ella refused, her gaze now resting on a point above Robyn’s head, a smile on her lips, mind far away. Robyn nodded at David and left him watching over her.

In the office, Matt had been dragging up everything he could on Liam Carrington and his sister. He’d been talking to staff at MiniMarkt and searching for the couple whose lottery ticket had been stolen. He was on the phone when Robyn put her head around the office door. He covered the mouthpiece and whispered, ‘Got something.’

She edged into the room, mindful she’d spent days working non-stop on this investigation, and stretched, trying to galvanise her stiffening muscles back to life. Matt put down the phone.

‘The owners of the ticket have been identified as Mr and Mrs Roper. They were victims of a break-in last December. Mrs Roper got up in the early hours to get a drink of water and in doing so, disturbed a burglar. He attacked her with a blunt instrument, which police believed to have been a crowbar or similar, used to gain entry to the property. Her screams roused Mr Roper and caused the burglar to run off, empty-handed. Mrs Roper received a fractured shoulder and severe damage to her face – shattered cheekbone. A team from Lichfield was assigned to the case.’

Robyn thought about the first time she’d interviewed Liam at MiniMarkt and the frail lady with the dark mark on her cheek, and recalled how Liam had directed Robyn into the back room when he spotted the woman and her husband. It hadn’t been for reasons of privacy after all. It had been because he couldn’t face the couple.

‘That’s too much of a coincidence. Liam Carrington supposedly steals the ticket from the couple in the shop, and they’re broken into soon afterwards. I don’t like this one bit. What details have you got?’

Matt pulled up all the information she needed. Robyn stared at the screen and read through the statements. There remained one explanation for what had taken place, and it could also be the real reason Liam Carrington had experienced sleepless nights and nightmares. It would also account for why Ella felt she had to murder to keep the secret safe.

Robyn ran her theory past him and he agreed it was a likely explanation. She issued him with instructions to call the Ropers and ask the important question that would provide the answer.

She prepared to re-enter the interview room. She’d be in serious trouble if she was wrong, but it was a chance she was willing to take. She slid back into position.

‘Thank you for waiting. I need you to help me out, Ella. I’m still puzzled about how Liam got his hands on that winning ticket. He was asked to check it so he put it through the lottery machine and pretended it hadn’t won. Then he threw it in the bin and retrieved it later. That’s right, isn’t it?’

‘Finders keepers,’ said Ella, with a faraway look on her face.

‘And this made him very upset?’

‘He didn’t like stealing.’

‘But Liam had already spent time in jail for stealing, hadn’t he? He was convicted of theft in 1998 when he was seventeen.’

‘He didn’t steal anything.’ Ella’s voice rose. ‘He was framed. He didn’t do it. He loved Sid. It was Johnny Hounslow who stole the money from the safe. Johnny Hounslow and his slutty, evil girlfriend.’

Robyn’s eyes widened. She wasn’t sure what else she’d uncover. For now, she had to keep Ella on the right track.

‘I doubt pinching a ticket would have upset him enough to give him nightmares, especially as he was going to get his hands on a vast amount of cash that would transform your lives.’

Ella lowered her gaze.

‘Here’s what I think occurred. I don’t think he got his hands on the ticket in the shop at all. He broke into the Ropers’ house to steal it. No doubt he had an idea where it would be kept. He’d have chatted to the Ropers and asked questions. They’re a friendly pair. He’d have advised them to look after the ticket, and they’d have told him where they put it for safekeeping. Or maybe you uncovered that piece of information for him.’

A tap on the door interrupted her. Matt came in and whispered to her. It was what she needed to hear.

‘Liam went to their house, attacked Mrs Roper and stole the ticket. We’ll find something that will place Liam at the Ropers’ house. Lichfield Constabulary has kept every piece of forensic evidence on file. All they require is a suspect. Now they have one. It’s over, Ella. You can stop protecting him.’

Ella levelled her gaze at Robyn. Her words spewed out, almost unintelligibly. ‘Look, I didn’t want to kill Henry. He was Liam’s only real friend and Astra loved him so much. I had to do it. I had to for Liam’s sake. You can understand that, can’t you? Henry was going to notify the lottery people. I couldn’t allow him to do that.

‘This was not my fault. Hawkins and his teammates were responsible for Henry’s death. They drove Liam to steal the ticket, and as a consequence, Henry had to die. I wanted them all to pay for their part in the deception and his death. They were desperate to share in the fortune so they also deserved to share the blame.’

Ella shrugged again, her face impassive, and began humming.