I am startled to see that there is a crack-sized opening in the sliding glass doors that lead out of the kitchen and into this sloping garden. I’m certain they were completely shut when I studied them from the top of the wall. There is no way to hide if I want to approach the house. My best option is to veer away from the wall and walk straight up to the doors. So this is what I do. When I reach them, I peer in.

Standing by the island where I sat with Eliza on Friday morning is a man. His hair is military short and white-grey, and he is wearing jeans and a charcoal shirt, untucked. His arms are crossed and the small of his back is resting against the countertop.

‘Hello, Holly,’ he says.

There is only a metre and a half between us. The pose is cool, but his face is flushed.

‘The cameras picked you up. I’d have buzzed you in from the front but I knew you’d flee if I spoke to you on the intercom.’ He shakes his head. ‘I’d have tried to persuade you, but I’ve been waiting for the police. They’ll be banging on the door soon. It was hard, watching you leave. But here you are, anyway.’

I’d forgotten the impact of that eye of his. The blue half over the brown half is like the sky over the earth. It goes right through me.

‘I heard the message you left for Eliza. Even with the false name, I’d know your voice anywhere.’

I am trembling so violently the room seems to be shaking.

‘I knew you weren’t dead. I always knew. I never stopped looking.’ He is staring at my knee. ‘You’re bleeding.’

I stare with him. It is badly scraped from when I dropped from the top of the wall, and dripping blood.

‘Let me get something to clean it.’

I open my mouth to say No, but nothing comes out.

‘Come in, Holly. I mean – please come in.’

I glance quickly behind me, into the garden. There is no tree near the wall on this side, no chink in the bricks to get a foot up, no way of gaining the height I need to scale the wall and get away from him. Even if there were, I couldn’t do it at speed, and he would catch me. I stifle a sob.

‘I’m not going to harm you or trap you. You can come through the house and leave through the front door any time you want. But it would help us both to talk and there isn’t a lot of time – the police will be here in a few minutes.’