Having informed us of this, Amelia made a start on one of the cheeseburgers. She’s always had a good appetite, probably as a result of all the swimming training. Watching her eat stirred up my own hunger. Unexpectedly the burger itself was slathered in some sort of chilli sauce and the cheese was also pretty punchy: the food tasted better than it looked.

Between mouthfuls I said, ‘You guys are right. We should do something. I can’t just sit here waiting anyway: I’ll go mad. But I think you’ve got Detective Hubert wrong. Let’s pay him a visit without Langdon, tell him to investigate any enemies Mum and Dad might have made over this Article 16B thing and ask him what that missing-persons protocol he mentioned is all about.’ I know Amelia had already called me out for ‘wish fulfilment’, but as I took another bite of burger I felt genuinely optimistic. I gulped the mouthful down and said, ‘Who knows, he might already have turned up a lead.’

32.

Since Xander’s leg was aching I suggested he wait in the hotel. If Langdon or anyone else turned up with news, he’d be there to field them. I’d paid close attention as we’d driven to and from the police station and was confident I could find my way there on foot. It wasn’t that far anyway. At one point the car had dog-legged around a big market. Now we cut straight through it. Everything about the market was a screamingly bright colour. There were stacks of fluorescent flip-flops alongside trays of oranges and mangos and cherries, and pink buckets full of blue plastic straws set out on bright green plastic tablecloths next to trestle tables piled with dark red gobbets of meat. To keep the sun off everything the stallholders had stuck striped beach umbrellas at jaunty angles everywhere, and the light pouring through was like one of those crazy Snapchat filters that makes everything look unrealistic.

‘Have you ever actually tried to do that?’ Amelia asked.

‘What?’

She pointed at a woman weaving through the throng towards us, carrying a tray of bread rolls on her head.

‘Er, no.’

‘I have. It’s impossible. Well, obviously not for everyone. Her, for example. But for me, even trying with a book, sitting still, no distractions, the thing kept sliding off. How she’s wandering round a market chatting with all that balanced on her head, I don’t know.’

‘Practice?’ I said.