‘Not now. I’ll be going in a few minutes; I need to go to the bathroom.’ Richard almost ran upstairs. Graham Foster turned to Martha.

‘Does Richard talk much about his cases?’

‘No, it’s a completely alien field to me so I suppose I don’t encourage him to tell me about his work.’

‘How often does he go to London, Martha?’

‘About once a month. He generally goes straight from chambers on a Thursday evening and stays until Friday night, or sometimes Saturday morning if it’s been a long day.’

‘They must be very grateful for his help,’ Alex Radford remarked.

‘Yes, they are. Richard’s always happy to put something back into the system, and there are always clients who can’t afford the fees.’

‘What about Legal Aid?’

‘If they’re eligible, yes, but in some civil cases or immigration issues, it’s not always the case. I don’t fully understand it. Richard will be able to explain it better than I can later, but if all goes well today you won’t need to look into our contacts will you?’

‘If we catch the kidnappers, which is the outcome we’re all hoping for, then yes we’ll be able to tie up loose ends and make a prosecution. If they get away our enquiries will continue, but hopefully with Danny safe at home.’ Radford smiled and then checked his watch. Richard remained upstairs until it was time to go.

He looked pale when he came down and anxious, which was only expected. Martha momentarily felt sorry for him – he might have done some stupid things but he loved Danny just as much as she did, for which she was grateful, and she knew he was nervous about the exchange.

An ominous clap of thunder made Martha shiver.

Alex stood up suddenly. ‘It’s time to go. Martha, if you could see your husband to the door, we’ll keep out of sight in case someone is watching the house.’

She did as they asked. At the door Richard bent to kiss her cheek and she allowed him to do so, touching him lightly on the arm. ‘Be careful,’ she said. Martha had never been so frightened – her husband and son were both in danger and she could only sit helplessly and wait.

Richard’s car was parked on the drive. He pressed the key fob to open it and climbed into the driving seat. He appeared to be looking at his phone for a moment, but soon turned on the engine and drove up the path. The two detectives stood well back from the window and watched him leave the drive until he disappeared from sight at the bend in the road.

Martha turned and with a heavy feeling of dread went back inside. Radford smiled reassuringly at her and explained again what would happen.