Any minute. Nick felt Michaela’s hand close round his … and squeeze hard.

Wada wriggled closer to the edge of the cliff and peered over. She still couldn’t see the beach directly beneath her. She wondered if Driscoll was down there somewhere, concealed from view. She looked to her right. The limping man was standing still, puffing at his cigarette. No one else got out of the van. The waves rolled in. She heard the soft whisper of the backwash on the sand. There was no other sound. She checked her watch again. One minute past six. Driscoll was late.

And then she saw him, out of the corner of her eye. He walked into view from the base of the cliff. He was wearing his dark blue suit, which made him look both out of place and yet wholly relaxed as he strolled across the sand with every appearance of casualness.

He was following a curving route that cleared a line of rocks and took him towards the water’s edge as he moved slowly east. He raised his right hand high above his shoulder as she watched, lowering it almost immediately.

She glanced right. A figure had appeared on the footpath leading down from the eastern headland. She raised the binoculars to her eyes. It was Espersen, walking at a steady pace towards the van. Driscoll must have been signalling to him, or acknowledging a signal of his.

She trained the binoculars on the van. A second man had emerged from the cab. He walked round to the side of the vehicle and slid the door open. Wada’s view of the interior was limited, but she thought she could see movement inside.

Then she heard a noise from closer range. She lowered the binoculars and looked down towards the lifeguard station. The front doors of the SUV were open. Two men who looked like the pair who’d guarded the entrance to the boardroom at Quartizon’s London offices had left the vehicle. One of them had headed out to a position in front of the lifeguard station, from where she calculated he could see Driscoll. The other was still by the car. He opened one of the rear doors as Wada watched. And Nishizaki climbed out. He too was wearing his suit. In a sense, she supposed, this was a business meeting. For him and Driscoll.

‘Here we go,’ was all Chas said. Dave responded by jumping out of the van.

A few seconds later, he slid the side door open. Daylight flooded in. He placed one foot on the sill and leant in. He unlocked Michaela’s handcuffs first, then Nick’s. ‘OK,’ he said when they were both free. ‘Out you come. Slowly.’ He stepped back.