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SEPTEMBER 2023

Lily Knot tore down the right wing, boot studs flicking up mud and grass as she dodged defender after defender, the ball glued to her feet. She'd been wearing down the team from Heston Lacy since the very start of the game. A blocked penalty, following a handball in the second half, had their striker hitting the bar again. Barton Mallet were still pushing, but the excellent Kate White from Heston had capitalised on a gap in Barton's defence. Lily Knot was hot on her heels, deftly taking the ball from between her feet, thwarting their chances of a goal yet again.

'GO ON, LILY! DRIVE IT FORWARD!' Dani screamed from the sidelines, trying to keep her brand-new white trainers out of the mud. Her phone, held high overhead, filmed every second of the game, while the Heston Lacy dads watched from the other side of the field in a grumpy gaggle of folded arms.

Lily was a few feet away from the penalty box when Heston's Charlotte Roach was suddenly on the ground, rolling around in agony. A whistle sounded and everyone checked their watches in expectation of a fair whack of injury time.

Dani leant into her friend Margaret Carson, waiting for the referee to stand from his crouched position and deliver a verdict.

'Roach clearly dived. COME ON, REF .' She tapped her watch. 'GET THE BALL BACK IN PLAY!'

Margaret smiled politely and winced as Dani's talons dug into her arm. 'She does appear to have blood on her face. Let's hope there's no concussion.'

Ignoring the polite diplomacy, Dani focused on the verdict through the iPhone movie she'd be posting on TikTok in about twenty minutes, zooming into a tight frame on the injured girl. The referee's hand reached into his top pocket and his arm shot up, clasping a yellow card.

'IT WAS AN ACCIDENTAL KNEE!' Dani exploded.

Margaret intercepted her before she burst on to the field and accosted the referee. 'Doesn't really matter, does it? It's just a friendly, after all.'

'Friendly? It's about as friendly as cystitis. Of course it bloody matters.' Dani's head whipped back sharply as Charlotte miraculously staggered to her feet and the ball was back in play. A goal kick from Heston was intercepted by Lily once again.

'GO ON, KNOT!' Dani blasted like a foghorn. For such a small person, the lungs on her were impressive. Lily took an audacious shot from the halfway line that went high and wide, provoking a big groan from the Barton Mallet supporters. Then, on a second wind, Lily propelled the ball forward and drove it straight into the bottom corner of the net.

'GOAL!'

The Heston dads stood across the field, mouths open, hands on heads. Dani was about to get up in their faces when Margaret coaxed her off the field towards the safety of the sports centre car park.

'Come on, Dani, let's not gloat, not today, not with everything going on.'

Dani looked up into a pair of troubled eyes. 'What do you mean, "everything going on"?'

Margaret dug into her tote bag, pulling out a Tic Tac to freshen the foul taste that was forming in her mouth. 'We were at the Crown Court earlier.'

'Who were?' Dani shook her head at the offered sweet. 'Who's we?'

'Me and some of the ladies from the WI, a few from the lunch club and Barton Mallet PTA.'

'Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you invite me along?' Dani stopped in her tracks as Margaret glanced back to the field and smiled sympathetically but didn't answer the question.

'There were . some arrests. It got violent.' They had reached Margaret's car and she was delving for her keys, avoiding eye contact. 'I don't blame them, to be honest. Susan Peterson, our so-called MP, is doing absolutely nothing to intervene .' She winced and swallowed back words as she clicked open the lock.

'What was the verdict?' Dani's mouth grew dry.

Margaret was about to confide in her when Gaynor Carson jogged over towards her mum and hopped into the back seat. Margaret's eyes flicked to her daughter, and she lowered her voice to a barely audible whisper.

'There will be certain conditions but he's definitely coming out.' There was a deep resignation in her tone and she squeezed Dani's hand. The two women were suspended in disbelief when a tap on the glass, telling them to hurry up, pulled them out of their silence. Dani smiled and waved at Gaynor as Margaret closed her car door and pulled away.

The blood rushed from Dani's head. What conditions? Her thoughts immediately turned to Ben. Did he know? She needed to call him. She wandered over to her car and climbed in, but before she could dial Ben's number, Lily was there, smushing her cheek against the glass, pulling a face.

Dani jumped. 'Oh. My. God. Come here, you.' She forced an animated smile and climbed out of the car, pulling Lily into a hug. 'You are an 'effing superstar.'

'Where's Dad? I thought he was coming?' Lily kicked off her boots and shimmied out of her muddy shorts as Dani held a modesty towel around her, like they were at the beach.

'Yeah, his flight got delayed . but he will be so proud of you when he hears. Tw-oo nil . two nil . two nil!' Dani chanted. It suddenly felt fake.

'Yeah OK, calm down.' The flicker of embarrassment on Lily's face was replaced by disappointment. This wasn't the first time her dad had been a no-show. She cracked a smile. 'I was pretty good, wasn't I? I mean, the game was good.'

'Good doesn't come close. You were a warrior.'

Dani was already scrolling through her phone, finding the best video clip to post as an Instagram story. She was all over social media, Threads, X, TikTok, Facebook. She was into everyone's lives and assumed everyone was into hers. Within seconds, the footage of her Barton Mallet star player was up online for all to see. The 'likes' started tumbling in and Dani put down her phone with a satisfied smile.

She glanced up to the rear-view mirror. Lily was sitting with her arms folded, staring out of the window.

'Indian? Chinese?'

'Can we get Thai?' Lily was looking out across the field, watching the losing team in their debrief with the coach, a sea of sad faces and soggy kits.

'Love, you can have whatever you want.'

Lily remained still, silently transfixed.

'What's wrong?' Dani tidied her hair in the mirror, eyeballing Lily.

'I dunno, just . I dunno.'

'Are we giving Katie a lift? Want to invite her for supper?' Dani smiled, trying some positive bravado.

'No, her mum wants her to go home. Everyone is going home tonight.'

As they pulled out of the car park, Lily stared out of the window at a man wearing a tweed flat cap lingering across the other side of the playing field with a majestic German shepherd next to him. He was standing still in the middle of the field, like a zombie, looking right at her as his dog ferreted through the brambles of the Barton Mallet landfill.

'Everyone was talking about him today.' Lily spoke quietly as Dani eyed her in the mirror.

'Talking? About who?'

'The Mill Killer.'

Dani shuddered but held it together. 'What were they saying?'

'I don't really know . they all clammed up when I walked into the changing room.'

Dani turned and looked over her shoulder. 'Hey, you. You just won us the match. You're a Lioness.' Her smile and sparkling eyes were full of genuine pride.

Lily looked at Dani. The word 'Mum' had almost slipped out so many times over the years, but staring at her now, face to face, this was definitely Dani. More like a big sister, full of fun and bubbles and too much make-up. Lily suddenly welled up and turned back to the window. Dani clocked it. Something was going on with her stepdaughter.

Something was going on with all the Barton Mallet daughters that evening. And all the parents of Barton Mallet's daughters. Parents who were new to the village and some who had grown up there. The foundations were trembling, an old rumble of collective trauma was shuddering to the surface.

'Pad Thai and green curry it is then.'

Dani adjusted the rear-view mirror of the Jaguar, fired up the engine and slowly pulled away. Lily stared out of the back window as the car drew slowly up the hill, away from the sports complex and back towards the village. He was standing still in the middle of the road now, arms hanging limp by his sides, a husk of a person. The man in the flat cap with the German...