She nodded. ‘It was also Marc’s idea to scrap the car.’

Nick felt the old fear bubbling up. ‘So the police wouldn’t find it? To protect you? Because you were lovers.’

The final sentence wasn’t a question, but a statement. It widened Anna’s eyes. ‘No, I… it wasn’t like that. We never slept together. He always seemed dedicated to his wife. I read about those three affairs, those women the papers called the Witches of Eastman, but I never got an inkling that that sort of thing was going on. God, apart from that time in the car, I never saw him interested in other women. And that night was the only time he ever showed that he was attracted to me.’

‘Then why did he help you cover the crime?’

‘He did it all to protect himself, Nick. He said he had a lot to lose if people knew he was in the car when it hit those poor people. No worry for me, just himself. Just his image. He said he was going to change this country, do great things, and if I didn’t help him to hide what had happened, I would be getting in the way of that. I would be ruining this country. He said he couldn’t allow me to do that, ruin things.’

She dabbed her eyes. ‘But he also mentioned you. You wouldn’t wait for me to get out of prison, he said. I’d never have the family I wanted. I would have to wait ten years or more to have a baby. That was what he said. I mean, I know that was just him trying to trick me, but he was right about going to prison. I would. I would have lost you. We wouldn’t have had Josie. I hid it for us. It’s why I ran yesterday. To sort this out and hope no one ever knew about… about that night.’

He understood, but still hadn’t had the answer he wanted. Now he grabbed her face in his hands, but softly, just to force her to concentrate on him. ‘But why kidnap Josie, Anna? What’s in the safety box?’

Anna and Marc stand before the car, washed in its headlights like actors lit up on a stage. Her head is bowed, face in her hands. The head shakes. Marc steps out of frame. The sound of the rain materialises as the door is opened, and then the picture jerks slightly as Marc enters the vehicle.

The frame moves backwards, turns, the headlights illuminating Anna sitting upon a tree stump. Then it moves forward, still turning, and Anna slips out of frame. The car heads back the way it came.