There was a landing running left and right from the top of the stairs. There were two doors to the left and one to the right.

But there were four windows upstairs. The one with the blinds was where the fourth door should be.

He walked along the landing, running his hands along the wall.

And then he felt a seam in the wallpaper. He pressed, the wall gave an inch, then sprang back, leaving a lip. He pulled and the door opened.

There was a small chamber, and then another door. This one was ajar. He pushed it open and walked into a small bedroom.

This was it. This was where she had been held.

But not any more. She was gone.

Wynne

Rainford had called. It was not good news. Wynne put the phone down and looked at Dudek.

‘Godamnit,’ she said. ‘They’re gone.’

‘What happened?’

‘The two PCs who were there earlier went back, but the house was empty.’

‘Did they search the grounds? Basement, attic?’

‘They’re looking now,’ Wynne said. ‘But they’re not hopeful. There was a hidden room and it was empty. They did have one piece of useful information, though.’

‘What was that?’

‘When they were there earlier there was a car parked outside, a silver Audi estate. They didn’t take the registration – we can get that from the DVLA – but at least we know what he’s driving this time.’

‘Unless he did another swap.’

‘Possible, but I think there’s a good chance he didn’t. He hasn’t had time to plan this. He’s fleeing.’

‘OK,’ Dudek said. ‘I’ll put out an alert. Anyone driving a silver Audi estate could be in for a surprise. We’ll stop every one we see.’

‘Do it,’ Wynne said. ‘We’re close. I can feel it.’

Annabelle

She sat in the back seat of his Audi. Her feet were bound at the ankles and her hands handcuffed in her lap. After strapping her in he had fully extended the seat belt then let it ratchet back, so it wouldn’t give if she leaned forward.

It was a safety mechanism on seat belts. It had happened to her many times over the years and she often wondered why they were designed that way. She had never thought that it could be used to restrain someone.

Guy had, and she was stuck. The ball gag was back in her mouth so she couldn’t even shout if they happened to stop beside someone. Not that they would be able to see her; the windows were tinted.

So all she could do right now was wait, and wonder what was coming.

Wonder where they were going.

They had been on a motorway, for a while. She had no idea which one, but they had left it and were now on a dual carriageway. She recognized some of the place names: Bexhill, Hastings.