He wanted to scream Don’t talk about her like that, but he just nodded.

Sammy stood up and grabbed a pair of jeans that were half under his bed. ‘Who did you meet?’

‘Oh,’ Matt said, his mouth dry. ‘It doesn’t matter. No one you know.’

Saturday, 7 March 2020, 8.30 p.m.

Matt

1

Matt sat next to his wife, his arm around her. She was resting her head against his shoulder. After reading the ransom demand they had fallen silent. He didn’t know what she was thinking; he didn’t know what to think himself. It felt very lonely.

‘Who can it be?’ he said quietly. ‘If we can figure that out then we have a chance of finding them.’

‘I don’t know anyone who would do this,’ Annabelle said. ‘I don’t know anyone who could.’

‘It can’t be random,’ Matt said. ‘If it was just money it could be anybody, but it’s you they want. There has to be a connection. Something personal.’

‘Someone who hates me,’ Annabelle said.

‘Or the opposite,’ Matt said. ‘Someone who loves you.’

‘But who?’ Annabelle said. ‘If that were the case it would have to be someone I know, someone I would recognize when I turn up to ransom the kids. What could they hope to gain by it?’ She frowned. ‘No, it’s someone who hates me, Matt. They want to hurt me.’ She looked up at him. ‘Or it could be somebody who loves you and wants me out of the way.’

‘No,’ he said. ‘It’s not that. There’s no one. I’d know.’

She started to cry. Matt held her tighter. It was all he could do; he felt totally helpless. And guilty. If he hadn’t left them in the car, none of this would have happened.

‘Then it’s someone who wants to hurt me,’ Annabelle said. ‘That’s the only explanation.’

‘Who?’ Matt said. He fought back his own tears. He couldn’t believe they were having this conversation. It felt so unreal. ‘Who would want to, and who could hide something like this?’

‘It doesn’t have to be someone we know,’ Annabelle said.

‘I think it does,’ Matt said. ‘They must know you, because they targeted you.’

‘Right. But that doesn’t mean we know them.’ She paused. ‘Perhaps they know me, but we don’t know them.’

He didn’t understand what she was driving at. ‘Like who?’

‘Like a fan. Someone who’s read my books.’

He considered it for a moment. It made a kind of sense, but it also made things much, much worse. ‘Then we have no way of working it out. It could be anybody.’ Annabelle sat upright, her head in her hands. He got to his feet and began walking up and down the room. He felt like he was fizzing with energy, like his nerves were out of control. He wanted to do something. Anything.