Now, though, the cops were too close. She’d made a mistake with the letters, but she hadn’t been able to resist doing it. It was a display of her superiority, but it had cost her the freedom to move.

‘Brings back memories, huh?’ Tom said.

‘Kind of.’

‘Sad ones? Anything to share? Are you nostalgic for something?’

Tom – foolish, foolish Tom – had asked her if she was feeling nostalgic. He had given her his stupid little grin and asked if she was feeling sad, and if she wanted to share anything.

‘Not now,’ she replied. ‘Maybe later.’

She had, for a second, contemplated telling him the truth.

I don’t feel any nostalgia. I don’t feel any sadness. I don’t feel anything.

Ever.

At least, not the way you do.

I feel the emptiness that can only be filled by one thing. I feel that all the time, growing and growing until it cannot be contained.

But other than that, I do not have feelings. I don’t know what they are. Love? Pity? Compassion? Fear? These are meaningless words. Empty sounds.

But it is too soon to tell him that. Not much too soon. But still too soon.

There were still some pieces that had to be arranged before that.

Although the wait must come to an end shortly.

The need, the void, the hunger, demanded it.

They arrived back at the house, Joanna still asleep.

‘I’ll put her down,’ Tom said. ‘Maybe she’ll sleep better with all this Lakeland air.’

Alice sat on the terrace and thought through what was to come next. There was work to be done, tasks to complete. Many, many tasks. But while Tom was upstairs with Jo, she chose Kay.

She wrote her a message.

Hi. How’s tricks?

Kay replied right away.

Fine. More importantly how are you?

Not great. Can you call?

Her phone rang seconds later.

‘Hi,’ she said.

‘What’s happening?’ Kay said. ‘Are you OK?’

‘Yeah,’ she said, in a low voice. ‘More or less.’

‘Why are you whispering? Are you hiding?’

‘No,’ Alice said. ‘But there’s not great coverage at the house so I’m outside on the terrace. Tom’s inside, but I’d rather he didn’t hear me.’

‘OK. So what’s going on?’

‘It’s strange, Kay. Now that I’m with him all the time I can see it more clearly. It’s like I knew it all along, but I couldn’t see it.’

‘See what?’

‘Who he really is.’

‘Jesus,’ Kay said. ‘What do you mean?’