‘No, please don’t.’ The less he knew, the better. Jack’s methods were unlikely to be ones that Tom would find acceptable, but he couldn’t be too high-handed because he understood only too well what would happen if Jack’s identity was exposed. He was thrilled at the thought of them being close by, though. Tom had always wanted more children after Lucy, but there had never been the right moment. Now he was going to be surrounded by babies, with both Becky and Emma giving birth in the near future.

‘I know you’re going to say it’s risky, but is it okay if I stay here for a couple of days?’ Jack said. ‘Nobody’s going to be watching your house after all this time, but I’ll be careful going in and out and I’ll be making a few trips to find the perfect place to live. Do you mind, or does it put you in a difficult position professionally?’

Tom almost laughed. After what he had done to help his brother’s family already, having him stay hardly counted. The only problem was that if anyone had any doubt about whether Jack was dead or alive, Tom’s home was the obvious place to watch.

‘Nobody has the first idea I’m alive, Tom. It’s years now – nearly eight, to be precise – since my so-called accident. And nobody from back then has been sniffing around. I’d know if they had, you know that. I have alerts on my name, yours, Emma’s, the kids’, and all the obvious suspects. Plenty gets said, but nothing we have to worry about. They stopped looking long ago.’

Tom knew that Jack had the tools to check anything that was posted online, especially in the depths of the dark web. He hoped his brother was right.

‘Anyway,’ Jack said, ‘what’s all this stuff about my old mate Nathan?’

‘Oh, you read that, did you? His sister’s missing. Do you remember her?’

‘Not really. No trace?’

‘Nothing. She’d been on holiday just before she went missing, and I’m guessing she met up with some people and went travelling.’

Jack said nothing and swilled the whisky round in his glass. Tom could almost hear his mind turning things over.

‘Have you lot taken it seriously?’

Tom blew out a long breath. ‘It’s difficult. So many people disappear every year – every day, come to that – and so we have to take a view about their vulnerability. Her risk level is low, so other than some obvious checks, I doubt much has been done.’

‘What about her computer, social media, that kind of stuff?’