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O n Monday, as Rose sipped coffee and sat in her dressing gown staring at a blank piece of paper at the kitchen table, a car drew up. Simon walked in, his face grey and stubbly and put his arms round her in a bear hug then looked down at what she was doing.

‘Are you actually writing a letter? With actual ink and paper?’

‘Trying. It’s to David’s mother.’

‘Really?’

‘Mmm. I forgot to say goodbye before I left.’

‘Who to?

‘David apparently.’

‘That’s ridiculous. Can’t you just message or email.’

‘No Simon, I can’t.’ She abandoned her blank paper and got up. ‘Look I’ve got something to show you.’

‘Me too, but you first.’

Rose went and got her mobile and came back to show him the photograph of the wolf with blue eyes.

‘Is that Sky?’

Simon’s face relaxed into a smile. ‘Yes, yes it is.’ He stroked the image with his finger tip, then frowned. ‘Hang on, how did you take this, you look like you’re above her.’

‘I was up a tree.’

‘Because?’

‘Long story. She went back into the undergrowth, I came down from the tree.’

‘Where’s your car?’

‘Part of the same long story. I’ll tell you later. What have you got to show me?’

‘After you’ve had your shower. I’ll get some breakfast. I’m starving.’

When Rose came returned, dressed and more awake, Simon handed her more coffee and some cheese on toast. She hadn’t realised how hungry she was.

‘Did you want to tell me the long story?’ he asked.

‘Not really. But the bottom line is that the car broke down outside town. It was pretty terrifying. I felt really… maybe I banged my head or something. Anyway, I got paranoid and climbed a tree.’

‘Like you do.’

‘Made sense at the time. Anyway, Rob came along, saw the car, I came out of the tree and he towed me home. The car’s in Patrick’s garage being checked over.’

‘Why aren’t you looking me in the eye? Which bit are you making up?’

Rose felt herself blush. ‘OK, Rob had to talk me out of the tree. He now probably thinks I’m totally bonkers.

I sort of holed up all weekend working on stuff.

David’s book, yours, some compositions. I didn’t have a lot of alternative without a vehicle.

Didn’t fancy the hike on my own. Anyway, what did you want to show me? How were things at the studio?’

He grunted, drew her into the sitting room and put a memory card into the television.

‘Before I press “play”,’ he said, ‘you’ve got to understand that this pretty much shows everything.

We’ve spent three days splicing bits of film together to make a kind of narrative for you.

For me. The film we took as a crew, the film we took of the camp in our downtime, the film we took from motion sensor activated cameras set up round the place.

This won’t be what goes out on TV. Once we’re ready to destroy it, you and me, we will.

It’s the only copy. Can you remember what the coroner determined? ’

‘It’s a bit of a blur,’ said Rose. ‘I don’t think I was thinking straight at the inquest. I kept the written judgment to read again sometime, but…

. Anyway,’ her appetite had gone, the cheese looked greasy and revolting.

She put the plate down. ‘The coroner said that at some point a day or so before David was killed, you had been bitten by a rogue wolf. It wasn’t one of the pack and the pack had, in fact, driven it away after it bit you.

You laughed off the attack as you hadn’t been badly injured.

The camp medic patched you up and gave you a rabies jab or something.

Someone suggested trackers should find the rogue wolf and capture it or destroy it or something.

You weren’t too happy about this, but could see the point. ’

‘Yep.’

‘Everything went back to normal. A day or so later, you started to feel unwell but no one could be sure what was wrong. Someone called in a specialist and Andrew Ford turned up. He said you should stop the filming and go for treatment, but the crew just needed a few more days to finish the film.’

‘It was a joint decision.’

‘I know,’ said Rose. ‘No one ever blamed anyone for that. Andrew said just one more day. You all said two, he said no just one. Am I right so far?’

‘Pretty much.’

‘A day after that, someone came into the camp and starts shooting. In the process, you were wounded and David was killed.’ She swallowed.

‘It was dark and chaotic. The shooting stopped. No one could work out where the gunman went. A month or so, a body and a gun were found a few miles away. The body was quite decomposed by then, but it had been a man. He had been malnourished and unhealthy and had shot himself. The gun was the same one which had killed David.’

‘Yes.’ Simon rubbed his temples as if trying to erase images in his mind.

‘The man was identified as someone who’d gone missing in the woods a few years earlier,’ Rose continued. ‘He had been a loner, nameless. No one came forward to claim him. Verdict: culpable homicide but possibly with extenuating mental health issues as mitigation.’

‘And we,’ said Simon, ‘that is Sue, you, Andrew and I assumed the dead stranger was the werewolf who bit me, but didn’t say so to anyone, because (a) no one would believe us and (b) if they believed us, what would happen to me?’

‘And now you don’t think he was?’

‘Oh, it was him all right.’

‘With a gun?’

Simon sat poised with the remote control. ‘Are you ready for this?’

‘I’m never going to be ready for this,’ said Rose. ‘But I need to see it anyway. Thanks for putting this together Simon.’

‘It’s as much for me as you,’ he said, then repeated. ‘Are you ready?’

‘No… But press play anyway.’