I breathe out a long slow breath. I tell myself none of this is my problem, that I need to relax, put it out of my mind. I shift my focus to the leaves shimmering over the canal water. They’re already starting to colour and the occasional one breaks loose and flips its way down to the water’s surface. But before I know it I’ve got my phone out and I’m googling the charity Huisman gave the money to. Roemers had sent me a text with the details, the name of the charity anonymous, ‘FZC International’, and Google comes up with nothing, apart from the register of companies and charities, showing that it was registered in Den Haag over ten years ago. But there’s nothing else, no website, no contact details other than a PO box in Haarlem, no explanation of what the charity exists to do. Ten minutes later, with me none the wiser, I start to wonder how it is they solicit donations like Huisman’s if there’s absolutely no information about who they are or what cause they represent. How would Huisman even know about their existence? I spend a few more minutes trying to convince myself it has nothing to do with the case, with Huisman’s disappearance. But I fail miserably. And despite my earlier resolve I realize this isn’t going to leave me alone. I clamber down from the roof, the dog jumping down to the deck with more grace than I manage.

Hank’s notes are there on the kitchen table and I sit down and open them up like they’re a holy text which will furnish me with all the answers I need.

Words can eat away at you like a virus. There’s no vaccine, you can’t unhear them, and once they’ve registered in your head there’s little you can do to stop their relentless march. At least I think that’s what’s happened in Vermeer’s case, because my phone went off as I was taking a break and we’re now talking. She’s covering herself, though, playing up Jansen’s involvement.

‘Jansen has convinced me that you could be an asset on this case. So here’s what I’m going to do. I’ll talk to my station chief and, assuming he agrees, I’ll find a place for you on my team. Purely in a consultancy role. But you’ve got to be clear on a couple of things.’

She reels off the usual: I work for her, I don’t do anything without her say-so, chain of command, blah, blah.

‘Agreed?’ she asks when she’s finished.

‘Agreed.’

‘You’ll get a call. Until then you are not to do anything in connection with this case. Understood?’

‘Understood. And there’s something I think you should know.’