“It’s OK. It was sweet that you were worried about me.”

“I sometimes forget we’re colleagues.”

“We’re friends too, Lex.”

He picked up his sandwich and tore off a piece. “There’s no such thing as friendship between men and women. That’s what my mother always said. One of the two always wants more.”

“And was your mother always right?”

He grinned. “If I’m honest, she did miss the mark from time to time.”

“Well then.”

8

8

Emily wanted to wait a little longer before she reported Brian missing. “One more day,” she had said—but then she had shot Ralf another look and added, “Or is there a reason why we should do it now? Do you know something I don’t?”

Ralf had fixed her with a stony expression and had sworn that Friday was the last time he’d seen her son, and that he had no idea where he’d gone after that. He wasn’t sure whether she believed him, but she’d stopped asking questions.

After their visit with Emily, he had taken Naomi home. He would have preferred to give her another driving lesson, but she had a mountain of homework to get through.

On his phone, he found a message sent by one of his friends earlier that day. Kevin had written that his parents were away, and asked whether Ralf wanted to come over and hang out. Alex was already there, and Rick and Luuk were coming later. Rick was the motorcycle mechanic—exactly the man he needed to speak to.

I’ll be there, he typed, and started up his car.

9

9

It was seven o’clock, and Werner wasn’t home yet. Helen wondered if he had finished his task. If it was done. She hadn’t seen or spoken to him since she left for the hospital that morning.

She crossed her arms and began to pace up and down. Sara and Thom had gone to visit friends after dinner, and Emma was upstairs, studying for an exam. When the whole family was at home, the house felt different. Less threatening. It made her less conscious of the cold, viscous aura that rose from the basement and seeped into the farthest reaches of her home.

They had to get rid of the body.

As soon as possible.

Two packages down. That left around ten or eleven risky journeys to the waste room still ahead of her. Eleven chances of being caught red-handed.

There had to be another way. One that was quicker, and let her take more at once. But how?

The loud bang of the gate against the house made her jump. She saw Werner walk past the kitchen window toward the back door, his head bent against the rain. Shortly afterward, she heard the door close behind him, followed by the quiet jangle of the metal hangers in the closet.