But that presented a problem. Two brothers in the same place, on the same night? If he’d come an hour or two earlier it would have been fine. She could have postponed killing Tom, but now there was no way of backing out of that. He knew everything, so he couldn’t live.

And now Roland was here, neither could he.

Which left her right back at the same problem. Two brothers dead in one night? It was too much of a coincidence. Questions would be asked. Questions would be answered. Emails would be read.

Her true identity would be uncovered.

Unless she made it work for her. A coincidence would raise eyebrows, but what if there was no coincidence? What if one death caused the other?

She smiled.

Yes. That was the answer. And she had the perfect way to make it happen.

‘How was the drive?’ she asked. ‘And what brings you here?’

Roland

Her smile reminded him of a doll his grandmother – his mum’s mum – had had when he and Tom were kids. It was porcelain, and the smile was painted on. The rest of the face was expressionless and the red lips were out of place, almost sinister.

‘I had to run something by Tom,’ he said. ‘That’s all. I tried to phone but it didn’t ring. I guessed you had no service up here.’

‘It must be quite urgent,’ she said. ‘To come all this way.’

‘It is,’ he said.

‘What is it?’

He could hardly tell her, but what could be so urgent he would drive this far to tell his brother?

Of course. The answer was obvious.

‘It’s Dad.’

‘What about him? Has something happened?’

He nodded, glad of a lie that made sense. ‘He’s taken a turn for the worse.’

The smile morphed into an open-mouthed look of shock. It was no more genuine.

‘My God. How bad is he?’

‘Worse,’ Roland said. ‘Not critical, but worse. Tom might want to come and see him.’

It really was the perfect excuse for him being here. Believable, and even better, it was a reason for Tom to leave immediately. He might not have to discuss the photo – and what the police had said – until they were on their way home.

They could bring Joanna, too. Say she needed to see her grandad.

And then he would tell the police where she was and they could come and deal with her. Something was very wrong here, but he, Tom, and Joanna would be safe, and that was all that Roland cared about.

‘That’s awful,’ she said. ‘And he’s going to want to see him, for sure. But he’s out on a walk with Jo at the moment. He left minutes before you arrived, so he may be a while.’

‘I didn’t see him as I drove in.’