‘Our vehicles are hidden at strategic points along the way, so we’ll have someone watching his every move. Try not to worry; hopefully this could be all over today.’

Martha nodded, not trusting her voice to form an answer, then went into the lounge to sit and wait, knowing this would be the longest morning of her life. She left the lounge door open so she could still see into the hall, and after five minutes passed, DI Radford was on his mobile phone once more.

‘He should have passed you by now!’ The detective sounded angry. He ended the call abruptly and immediately made another. ‘Have you got eyes on our subject yet?’ He grunted then beckoned Graham Foster to follow him into the kitchen. They closed the door so Martha could no longer hear what they were saying.

Why do they shut me out? Danny’s my son and this is my house! She barged into the kitchen to confront them.

‘What’s happening?’ she asked. ‘Richard’s only just left; surely nothing’s gone wrong already?’

Both men looked at her, then at each other, before Alex Radford answered, ‘Your husband’s gone off in the wrong direction, Martha. He’s not passed any of the vehicles waiting en route, and he isn’t answering his phone.’

21

DAY 4

Serena was bored. The hotel was excellent, with all the facilities she could have wished for, but she was in the mood for more exciting entertainment. Richard wouldn’t be calling any time soon – she was almost sure he was getting tired of her, which wasn’t a surprise; she felt the same way too.

Richard had been fun to begin with, but it was always the same – the only difference was that he was the first man to actually buy her a property. Serena had tried that little scam a couple of times before during previous dalliances but the other men were somewhat more circumspect than Richard. At times Serena had lived in some quite luxurious rented apartments (courtesy of the then-current beau) but this was the first time she’d owned one.

Shortly after the apartment was purchased, little signs that Richard was losing interest appeared, but as her name was on the deeds, he would never be able to claim it back. If he tried, he’d have some pretty uncomfortable explaining to do to his wife, and, Serena reckoned, Richard would simply disappear out of her life. To be brutally honest, she would miss the regular payments he deposited into her bank account more than the man himself, but it was time to move on.