Matt’s hand shook. He looked older, his eyes dull, his expression fixed. His smile was one of the first things she noticed when she met him. It was a full-face smile, his mouth wide, his cheeks high and his eyes bright. He almost looked startled, as though he was about to gasp in amazement or burst into fits of giggles. It was infectious and she had found herself smiling in return. It was part of what drew her to him; being with him was always fun.

Now, though, the smile was gone. He barely looked like himself. And this was only the start of this nightmare. Who knew what toll it would take by the end?

‘What does it say?’ she said.

‘Read it,’ he said, and passed her the phone.

The handover will take place at 5.30pm. You need to arrive – only the two of you, or the deal is off, without any negotiation – at the GPS coordinates I will send after you reply confirming you will be there.

You will find a gate. Stop there. Matt – get out of the car and open the gate, Annabelle – drive through the gate until told to stop. It will be obvious when that is.

Matt, wait until Annabelle and I have left. Then you can retrieve your children.

There is one other thing. Annabelle will be naked other than a bathrobe. She will have no belongings with her whatsoever. If this requirement is not met, or if there is any attempt to conceal a weapon or tracking device of any kind, the swap will be aborted.

‘That’s the end of the hammer,’ Annabelle said. ‘I’m going to be totally defenceless.’

They went into the living room. Rob and Brenda were standing by the window. Matt called into the kitchen for Mike and Tessa.

‘Another message,’ Annabelle said.

‘What is it?’ Rob said.

She gestured at the coat with the hammer-head sewn into the sleeve.

‘This is useless,’ she said. ‘I can’t take anything. No weapons. No phone. Nothing.’

‘That’s why it’s concealed,’ Brenda said. ‘So they won’t know you have it.’

‘They’ve thought of that. They want me to be naked. It’s in thirty minutes.’

Brenda gestured at the phone. ‘Can I see?’ she said.

Annabelle handed her the phone.

‘Well,’ Brenda said. ‘We still have the drone, and if it’s in thirty minutes it can’t be that far away. We need to be ready to go.’

‘You need to tell him you want to see the kids,’ Rob said. ‘Check they’re OK. This is very one-sided. It doesn’t feel great.’

‘What should I say?’ Annabelle said.

‘That you’ll be there, but you want to see the kids before you go through the gate.’

‘OK,’ she said, and began to type.

We will be there but need to see the kids before the swap. They need to be visible and safe.