Deadpan, the guard led Niall through to the front, stopped near an employee who was stacking tins of beans on a shelf and spoke into his radio. Then they walked on, bypassing the checkout counters and the news stand, and stopped at the customer service desk over to the right of them. There was a small blue-and-white podium a short distance away with two large computer monitors. Both showed empty aisles.

‘We’ll take a look at the whole store, sir,’ the guard said. He worked a toggle on a control panel to the side of the desk. Aisle after aisle appeared, with just a few members of staff who were restocking shelves. No Eden.

The last customers were now going through the checkout desks. Niall could see the self-checkout tills were empty.

The security guard’s radio crackled. He listened briefly, then turned to Niall. ‘There’s no one in the toilets, sir. You are sure she came into this store?’

‘Yes, absolutely.’

The guard asked an employee at the customer service desk to put out a Code Six call. Moments later, her voice rang through the tannoy.

‘This is a colleague announcement for all managers – Code Six in progress.’

Several employees materialized over the next couple of minutes. Seven, Niall counted.

The guard spoke to them. ‘This gentleman’s wife is missing. Age thirty-one, shoulder-length brown hair. She’s wearing a pink top and white shorts. Name of Mrs Eden Paster-Noster. Please do a sweep of the aisles.’

‘Paternoster!’ Niall corrected him this time.

‘Apologies. Mrs Eden Paternoster,’ the guard told them.

As they all hurried off, the guard turned to Niall. ‘She couldn’t have left the store?’

‘Well, she knew where I was parked.’

‘She didn’t go to Marks and Spencer, maybe, or McDonald’s?’

‘Not unless either of them sells cat litter.’

Again, no smile.

‘She didn’t leave just as you came in, and you missed her, sir?’

Niall shrugged. That was possible. Maybe he was making a huge fuss over nothing. He tugged his phone out of his pocket, checked just in case there was a text or WhatsApp from Eden, then dialled her again.

And, again, it was unavailable.

‘They both shut at four too?’ Niall asked.

‘M and S, yes. Not McDonald’s.’

Five minutes later, all the employees doing the sweep of the store had returned. Eden wasn’t on the premises.

Niall thanked them and had a sudden feeling that he was being a total idiot. What if the guard was right and he had missed her somehow, Eden coming out as he’d gone in?

He walked swiftly back through the emptying car park towards the dusty, black BMW convertible. Even though he’d put the roof up and was sure he’d locked it, he peered through the window when he reached it.

She wasn’t in the car.

3

Sunday 1 September

Roy Grace pulled his Alfa Romeo coupé into the largely empty car park across the rural road from Ford prison, in West Sussex, shortly after 4 p.m. The Detective Superintendent was dressed in weekend casuals, jeans, T-shirt and a light jacket. He’d deliberately chosen to come at the weekend to make this a private visit, and had pulled a favour from the Governor, whom he was friendly with, to ensure this wasn’t recorded as official business. Grace suspected there was going to be a very good reason why he wouldn’t want his boss, Assistant Chief Constable Cassian Pewe, to know about this visit and quiz him on his purpose, as he surely would have done if it had been during work time.