He jogged upstairs to see if his mother was ready and found her sitting on her bed crying into her phone. He realised that he’d screwed up badly. He willed himself to think, but his thoughts were confused. He had no idea who to turn to, and only the villa seemed like a safe option. He made a decision and found a suitcase in his mother’s wardrobe. He stuffed some items into it and slammed it shut, then took his mother by the arm and virtually carried her downstairs and out into the sunshine. He helped her into his pickup, then went back inside for his own luggage. Closing the door behind him, he jumped into the driver’s seat, starting the engine too enthusiastically and scaring his mother.

She cried all the way to the Troodos Mountains.

The roads were quiet, and Alex drove with the windows down. To foreigners, June on the island was as hot as a furnace, but to a local, air con was only required when the mercury topped forty-five degrees, in August. He played music to distract his mother, but all he could hear was her wailing. Eventually he put the windows up so people wouldn’t think he was kidnapping her.

All the way, he kept vigilant. He stared at every driver, examined every face, and watched the traffic to see if he was being followed. He forced himself to smile and tap the wheel so he didn’t appear nervous or jumpy, but inside, his guts were mush.

His mobile phone rang, but he ignored it.

Chapter 40

Kelly drove to Eden House. She was keen to brief her team for the first time in a week, and the thrill of the chase was evident in the office, despite it being Saturday. As far as she could make out from talking to DS Kate Umshaw, they’d made the most of her short sabbatical and set about proving themselves to their absent boss. Kelly was impressed. During an investigation, there were certain milestones that guided the whole thing forward. Sometimes, like false summits on a mountainside, they could follow leads for weeks and end up having to reverse and start again. But today felt good. The investigation was well oiled, and besides, she’d missed her team. She went into the incident room and strode to the front desk. Emma was having a well-earned day off, while Matt was expecting to attend via video link.