Alice bunks off school. Going home is safe with parents at work. Entering the hall, she hears something upstairs.

“Mum? Dad?”

Venturing up, Alice opens the bedroom door.

A strange woman looks back, shocked. She wears too much makeup.

“Who are you?”

“Alice…” the woman says.

It’s her father’s voice.

Viv Burgess worries about the characters she has pushed into the deep end.