Rob pulled up outside the house and parked next to Mike’s Volvo. The Land Rover was still where the kidnapper had left it. Matt supposed the police would want it for forensic stuff; he didn’t want to ever see it again.

‘Sorry,’ Rob said. ‘But it’ll work out.’

Matt opened the door. ‘Thanks.’

‘Be in touch if you need anything.’

‘I will.’

He got out of the car and walked towards the front door. It opened before he reached it.

Norman stood there, his hand on the Yale lock, silhouetted in the door frame.

‘Daddy,’ he said. ‘Where were you? Did you find her?’

Matt held his arms out and grabbed him in a tight hug. ‘I was out,’ he muttered into his eldest son’s hair. ‘Not yet. But I will. I promise.’ He blinked away his tears. He didn’t want to alarm his son. ‘How about you? Are you OK?’

‘Yes,’ Norman said. ‘I’m fine.’

Matt took a deep breath. ‘Were you hurt?’

Norman shook his head. ‘No.’

‘What happened?’

‘We were in a van. There was a tablet. We just stayed in there. We got food and stuff.’

‘OK. You might have to tell someone about it.’

‘The police?’

‘Yes.’

‘To help them find Mum?’

Matt was surprised Norman had figured out what was going on so easily, but then he was often struck by how much his eldest son understood about the world. He assumed it was always that way with the firstborn; they grew up so much faster than you anticipated, so you were always surprised by what they were capable of.

Which was good, because what was coming was going to test all of them.

‘That’s right,’ he said. ‘To help them find Mum.’

‘OK. I’ll talk to them.’

‘Where are Keith and Molly?’

‘Watching TV.’

‘How are they?’

Norman shrugged. ‘They’re good. When we were – when we were gone, I told them everything was OK. Molly really missed you and Mum, so I made up stories. About animals and things. They were pretty good!’

‘How was Keith?’ His middle son was quiet, and very sensitive. With Norman you knew what he was feeling, because he told you. Keith, though, bottled it all up.

‘OK,’ Norman said. ‘I know you and Mum worry about him, so I made sure he was all right.’

Matt’s throat tightened. ‘You’re fantastic,’ he said. ‘Thank you for taking care of them. They must have been scared.’

Norman looked at him. He hesitated, and his lips started to quiver. ‘I was scared, too.’

He pulled his son closer. ‘I’m here now. And everything’s going to be fine.’

‘But what about Mum?’ Norman said. ‘We need her.’

‘We do,’ Matt said. ‘And we’ll find her. The police are looking.’

‘How do you know we’ll find her?’ Norman said.

He blinked. ‘Because we have to,’ he said.