De Haas wrote something down on a small notepad. “Did you notice anything unusual about Brian?” he asked, without looking up from his paper. “Was he preoccupied, or did he have any plans?”

“No, not that I know of.”

“Think carefully.”

Ralf looked from one to the other. “I’m telling you I really don’t know. We didn’t see each other that often.”

De Haas leaned forward. “Brian’s mother told us you’re his best friend.”

“Brian didn’t have many friends.”

The officer cocked his head. “Didn’t have?”

Ralf’s hands began to shake. He folded his arms. “Didn’t, doesn’t. What difference does it make?”

“I find it very interesting that you’re talking about your missing best friend in the past tense,” said De Haas.

His colleague joined in. “Aren’t you worried about him?”

Ralf looked at his mother. She was standing in the doorway and looked pale.

“Not really,” he said.

“And yet you and his girlfriend went over to his mother’s house to make inquiries. Because you aren’t worried.”

Ralf scratched his neck. “That was her idea. Naomi’s. I went with her as a favor.”

“So, you aren’t concerned, then?”

He shook his head. “This wouldn’t be the first time Brian has dropped off the radar for a while.”

De Haas looked him straight in the eye. “One of my colleagues told me you came to the station to file a report. It seems it was a sensitive matter—something that couldn’t be reported online.”

This was going wrong. Ralf felt a tiny muscle near his eye start to twitch.

“That wouldn’t have had anything to do with Brian, would it?”

“No,” he said as casually as he could. “As it happens, it didn’t.”

The officer turned toward Ralf’s mother. “Could you confirm that?”

Ralf sought his mother’s eyes, but she was looking at the floor. Picking at the hem of her T-shirt. She looked younger, standing there. Like the girl she must once have been.

“It didn’t have anything to do with Brian,” she replied.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Ralf exhaled inaudibly.

“Would you like to file that report now?”

She lifted her head. “What we came to tell you about—is all settled now.”

The officers looked at each other. The bald one stood up, followed by De Haas. “OK. We’ll be on our way now. Thanks for the coffee.”

De Haas turned around at the door. He lowered his chin, and his eyes met Ralf’s for a few seconds. “But we’ll be keeping an eye on you, Venema.”

“Why don’t you go and catch some real crooks?” Ralf heard his mother say. Her voice was trembling. “You’ve been bullying my son for long enough.”

De Haas responded instantly. “You might find you have a rather rose-tinted view of your son.”