When the satnav said he’d arrived, Nick parked and shut everything off. Absently, he reached for the glovebox and a photo of all three of them, himself, Josie and Anna, at a country park picnic table. Only when he saw no picture did he remember that he was in Middleton’s car. But he did see a half-empty bag of roasted nuts and his stomach immediately grumbled. He slammed the lid and started gorging.

It was late and he knew nothing was going to happen overnight, so he put the seat back and tried to relax. It wouldn’t happen. And it was cold. He went to the boot, hoping to find a coat or blanket, but what he found was a box wrapped in flowery paper. A tag said…

Happy Birthday, Eldest. From Dad

A birthday present for Anna. The shape was unmistakable: alcohol! He snatched it up. Randomly, his mind flipped through history – had Eastman ever bought Anna a birthday present? With a secret love note, perhaps in Braille so nobody else could read it?

Back in the driver’s seat, paranoia fading, Nick tore a strip of the paper away before he caught himself. Beneath, he saw part of two words:

EGA CHA

It was as low as he’d felt for hours. Sitting in a stolen car, about to drink wine bought for his wife’s ruined birthday, and wondering still if she’d had an affair with her boss while he’d been dating her.

His mind turned to his daydream on the motorway, when his brain had decided he could cope with a return of some memories from last night. Before, he had lied to DS Bennet when he’d said he didn’t remember anything else about being taken by masked men, but that had been because he’d believed he’d lain in that van and let panic overcome him, let his daughter down with inaction. But now he knew he had talked to Josie; he had tried his hardest to comfort her, to dispel her fears. Tied up, drugged, words had been all he could offer. And now he felt he had done as much as he could. Not enough, of course, but the limit of his ability.

So he hadn’t been weak at all. He’d shown strength, and he needed to show it again tomorrow. And the day after, and for the rest of his life.

Including right now.

He pressed the torn paper back into place and put the bottle on the floor. He was about to put it under the mat, so it wouldn’t call to him, but backtracked. No, let it stare at him. Let it call, tempt, cajole, threaten. He was stronger.