Rory took her arm. Under the pretext of pushing her forward, he whispered, ‘Rosie’s safe. I’ve hidden her.’ It took a few moments for the words to line themselves up in the correct order in her mind, but when they did she snapped her head to him, only to see the side of his face as he turned away.

Harriet stood to one side, bundled up against the freezing air. Normally she was composed and carefully made-up, but Thea could see a deep wrinkle in the middle of her brows and her lips were pale and bloodless.

Delores stepped forward. Thea put her hand to the small of her back, to the little slit pocket in her leggings originally designed to put a house key when running, but now holding a tiny, tiny memory stick. She could feel its sharp edges. It was the only thing she had to bargain with.

Delores opened her arms.

‘Thea,’ she said, her voice warm. ‘I was worried about you.’

Then she stepped forward and folded Thea into a hug, her sharp chin pressing into Thea’s shoulder, the one that she’d hurt earlier. Thea stayed rigid, her arms trapped at her sides, her gaze flicking from side to side, waiting for the person who was going to taser her, knock her out, or shoot her.

‘If you want to stay alive, do as I say,’ Delores hissed into her ear and then leant back quickly, raising her voice. ‘So good to have you safely back.’ She smiled and the effect was jarring. It didn’t fit right on her face, the corners of her mouth twitching with the effort. Thea thought of animals who bared their teeth in warning.

While Delores had been talking to Thea, Rory and Kyle had been helping Moses out of the other side of the car, Rory holding him under the armpits, Kyle carrying his feet. Thea was very close to Delores at the exact second she clocked who they’d brought back to the Centre.

‘Ms Maxwell,’ Kyle said as he neared her. ‘We found him at the lighthouse. Some sort of … vagrant, yes?’ He emphasized the word. ‘Thought it best to bring him back.’

Delores was a master of this kind of thing and apart from a slight pressing together of her lips, she managed to keep her face perfectly expressionless. Something passed unspoken between her and Kyle.

It took Thea a minute to realize what was going on. They knew! Ing Enterprises and its parent, Aspire. It hadn’t been only Delores hiding him away, it had been all of them. And where better to keep him hidden than on the island?

Delores moved away from Thea and bent to look at the floppy body of Moses, just a brief glance, her hair swinging down to shield her face – and anything she may have felt.