‘She’s right. There’s nothing we can do now, mate,’ Rob said. ‘Time to let the professionals have a go.’

Matt stared out of the window. He knew Rob had a point, but the thought of stopping made him feel sick. At least if he was still looking for her he was doing something. Stopping meant accepting she was gone.

Which she was.

They had tried, but they had failed.

Already he was wondering if they could have done something different, something better.

Probably. And he knew he would never stop wondering what.

But it wouldn’t change anything.

Annabelle was gone.

Now the only hope she had was the police.

Annabelle

She wasn’t sure how long she lay in the van. More than a few minutes, for sure, and less than an hour, but other than that she couldn’t tell. It was dark and silent and freezing and smelled of oil and grease.

And her shoulder was causing serious pain. Now she was still she could feel the bone at the top of her arm – she had no idea what it was called – pressing against the side of her chest. She tried to brace it against the yellow strap and push it back, but as soon as she did the pain flared up, white-hot.

The only relief was that it still moved, so it wasn’t dislocated.

Once she heard a car, and she tried to bang against the floor and sides of the van, but the straps held her motionless, which was presumably what they were for. The kidnapper really had thought of everything.

What was not obvious was why.

And when she thought of the options the pain in her shoulder seemed irrelevant, because they were all horrifying.

Torture. Rape. Murder. She tensed her whole body to try and contain the panic, but she could feel her mind fraying. Every one of those possibilities was beyond horrific.

The front of the van opened. It shook as someone got in. The engine started, and they began to move.

There was a sliding sound and a panel between her and the front opened. The kidnapper looked back at her, then a hand snaked out and removed the ball gag. It fell to the floor.

‘Who are you?’ she said, her voice hoarse. ‘Why are you doing this?’ And why had the ball gag been removed? It was almost as though, now no one could hear her, her captor wanted to minimize her discomfort.

There was no answer. The panel slammed shut and they began to move. She slumped against the wall.

So they had switched vehicles to a van. That was the plan. They had pulled off the motorway and parked next to this van to put anyone following them off the scent.