Nick stood stock still. And Michaela stood stock still next to him. He was aware – and he knew she was aware – that the next few minutes would determine whether they were going to be released unharmed. He tried not to think about what might go wrong. The figure he’d seen at the other end of the beach had stopped moving now. A white-haired man, wearing a dark suit, standing with his arms folded. Driscoll. It had to be. His father. This was the closest he’d ever been to him. But still they were a long way apart.

Another man, tall and bulky, came into view then, striding across the beach from a building that backed on to some dunes: the lifeguard station. He was heading towards Driscoll, casting a faint reflection of himself in the wetter stretches of the sand, where a brook flowed out to sea.

‘Everything look OK?’ Dave called to Chas, who’d left the van and moved round to the front of the vehicle.

‘Everything looks fine,’ Chas replied.

Wada watched the first security man approach the spot where Driscoll was waiting and stop a few metres from him. He said something to which Driscoll replied, then he pulled out a phone and spoke into it. Wada glanced back at Nishizaki. He had his phone to his ear. He was also heading towards Driscoll, leaving the second security man back by the lifeguard station. He was walking fast, impatiently, it seemed to her, water splashing up from his shoes as he strode through the rivulets of the brook.

The first security man closed in on Driscoll, who stretched out his arms sideways. The security man began frisking him. The process lasted no more than thirty seconds and evidently gave no cause for concern. He stepped away and, looking back at Nishizaki, gave a reassuring nod: Driscoll wasn’t armed. Nishizaki nodded curtly in response and strode on towards them.

Nick gazed along the beach. A second man was moving towards Driscoll from the direction of the lifeguard station. The first man was standing right next to Driscoll. It looked as if he’d just patted him down, searching for a weapon, maybe, and evidently finding none.

‘Who are they?’ murmured Michaela.

‘Nishizaki and some goon of his, I guess.’

‘I don’t get how this is supposed to play out.’

‘Me neither.’

‘Shut the fuck up,’ growled Dave.

‘It won’t be much longer,’ said Chas. He gave them a tight little smile. ‘Then we’ll have to say our goodbyes.’

Wada saw Driscoll raise his hand. Nishizaki stopped about ten metres from him, with the security man between them. Driscoll raised his arm aloft. Switching her gaze to the other end of the beach, she saw Espersen raise his arm in response. She looked back at Driscoll and Nishizaki. Nishizaki raised his phone to his ear. A moment passed. Then there was movement back at the other end of the beach.