She sat perched on the edge of the cliff with her legs hanging over, the breeze whipping her hair and stinging water from her eyes. Behind her, she heard Aileen clear her throat awkwardly and swallow. ‘I’ve been trying to call your mum. I left messages and voicemails, loads of them. I never called Sheena much but she always got back to me when I did. So I was worried. It wasn’t like her not to answer.’ Aileen wrapped her arms round herself. ‘Now I know why.’ The sky was mottled with cloud and the air had a bite that was less than summery; Lauren thought it was probably going to rain soon. But she didn’t want to go inside. She hated that house, the house that didn’t even have a name. A house with no name and no number couldn’t be home to anyone. She tilted back her head to gaze at the ragged black crow that dived and soared between the low clouds. ‘Look at that bloody bird,’ she said. ‘I swear it’s spying on me.’ Aileen laughed awkwardly. ‘There’s loads of crows around here.’ ‘No.
