‘No comment,’ says Hayley, and I respond with a ‘hmm’, before filling her in on my MIA dad.

‘Maybe he’s still asleep,’ is her response.

‘He never sleeps past seven,’ I argue. ‘And he never switches off his phone either. I tried both – the mobile and the landline.’

‘What can I do?’ She sounds more resigned than concerned.

‘I guess, if you don’t mind, you could maybe drive over there? Just to make sure he hasn’t fallen over or something?’

‘He’s not even sixty yet,’ she chides. ‘I doubt we’re looking at a slip and fall situation.’

‘Pretty please,’ I plead, closing my eyes and willing her to agree. ‘You know I wouldn’t ask you unless I thought it was absolutely vital.’

‘Oh, OK then, as it’s you.’

The next half-hour passes like a week, and not even the stunning swathes of scenery rushing past the window can distract me. It’s stupid, but I keep envisaging David submerged under his bath water, or in a crumpled heap at the bottom of the stairs. I check my phone to see the date of his last text – three days ago. Before I went to Oamaru. I didn’t even tell him that I was going. Now, suddenly, I want to tell him everything.

I’m still holding my phone when Hayley calls me back, and the shrill ringtone makes me jump so much that I almost drop it.

‘Talk to me,’ I say, not bothering with pleasantries.

‘Well, it’s really weird,’ Hayley says, sounding far more awake now than she did during our initial conversation. ‘I’m outside your place now, and there are no lights on or anything. I’ve been knocking and calling through the letterbox, but he hasn’t answered.’

‘Shit! Can you see anything through the windows?’

‘The curtains are drawn,’ she says, and I hear the sound of gravel crunching underfoot as she makes her way around the side of the house. ‘No, no sign of him in the kitchen either.’

‘Try chucking a stone at the front bedroom window,’ I say, but Hayley isn’t keen.

‘If he didn’t hear me shouting, he’s not going to hear a stone. Hang on – I’ve got another idea.’

All I can hear is her feet on the driveway, and I hate myself for being so far away. It’s been days since I called – he could have been trapped for ages.

‘Oh,’ Hayley says, and I clutch the phone.

‘What?’

‘I’ve just had a look through the letterbox again, and I can see a pile of mail on the mat.’

‘He must be in there!’ I cry, attracting curious stares from other passengers on the bus. We’re not far from Queenstown now – I can see a glimpse of Lake Wakatipu in the distance.

‘I think the alarm’s on,’ Hayley says. ‘I can see the light flashing.’