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and that’s when I ran for it. Is Millie all right?’
    ‘She’s dead,’ Annie said curtly. ‘It looks as if he strangled her.’
    Belle stared at her mother in horror. She might have already wondered if the man had killed Millie, but it was something very different to have it confirmed. She felt her head might explode with the shock, for this was the worst kind of nightmare.
    ‘No! She can’t be dead.’ Belle’s voice was just a whisper. ‘He hurt her, but surely that wouldn’t kill her?’
    ‘Belle, you know me better than that, I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true,’ Annie said reproachfully. ‘But we haven’t got much time. The police will be here soon, I sent Jacob for them. You have to forget that you were in that room, Belle!’
    Belle didn’t understand and could only stare at her mother blankly.
    ‘Look, I’m going to tell ’em that I found Millie. I’ll say I went up to her room because I heard a noise of someone climbing out the window,’ Annie explained. ‘You see, I don’t want them to question you. So I’m going to say you were in bed down here. So if they do ask to speak to you, that’s what you must say. You got into bed here at half past eight and you only woke up a little while ago because of a noise outside. Can you do that?’
    Belle nodded. It was such a rare thing for her mother to speak to her in a kind and gentle fashion that she was prepared to say anything she asked. Of course she didn’t understand why she couldn’t tell the truth, but she supposed there had to be a good reason.
    ‘Good girl.’ Annie put her arm around Belle’s shoulders and squeezed them. ‘I know you’ve had a shock, you’ve seen things I never wanted you to see. But if you were to tell the police you were in that room and saw what happened it would turn into the worst nightmare you can imagine. You’d have to be a witness at the man’s trial and be interrogated. They would say all kind of vile things to you. You would be in the newspapers. And you could be in real danger from the man who did this to Millie. I couldn’t put you through all that.’
    Having expected to be punished severely, only to find instead that her mother wanted to protect her from further harm, made Belle feel a little better.
    ‘Where’s Mog?’ she asked.
    ‘I let her go and see her friend in Endell Street as I knew it’d be quiet because of the snow,’ Annie said, pursing her lips. ‘A good thing, as it turned out. But she’ll be home soon. Now, just you mind you stick to the same story to her too.’
    Belle nodded. ‘But when the police catch the man he might say I was in the room,’ she whispered.
    ‘They won’t catch him because I shall say I didn’t know him,’ Annie said. ‘But you mustn’t concern yourself with anything about this business. Only Jacob and I know you were up there, and Jacob won’t tell.’
    ‘But if the police don’t catch the man he won’t be punished for killing Millie,’ Belle said.
    ‘Oh, he’ll be punished, make no mistake about that,’ Annie said fiercely.

Chapter Three
    Belle was still wide awake when she heard Mog’s distinctive step on the stairs. She had a stiff knee and came down slowly.
    ‘Mog!’ Belle used a stage whisper because she wasn’t sure whether the police were still upstairs. She’d heard them clonking around earlier and had braced herself for them coming down to her at any minute. ‘Will you come and see me?’
    ‘Oh ducks, what a to-do!’ Mog exclaimed as she came into the room. There was no gaslight in Belle’s room so she struck a match and lit the candle. ‘Yer ma told me what happened tonight. The police had just gone when I got back. Fancy Millie being murdered! All the girls are scared now, I dare say some of ’em will scarper tomorrow. But I told ’em this place is safer than anywheres else, lightning don’t strike twice in the same place.’
    Mog’s lack of hysteria was predictable; she never got really worked up about