He phoned April, who promised to tell Kate nothing, if she pressed her for information, beyond confirmation that she and Caro had misled Nick about the identity of his father.

‘I’m going to be away for a few days,’ he explained. ‘I don’t want Kate fretting on my account.’

‘Where are you going, Nicky?’

‘To find him.’

‘You’re going to come back safe, aren’t you?’

‘Of course I am. Why shouldn’t I?’

‘I don’t know. But—’

‘I’ll be fine, April. This is something I have to do. Once I’ve done it …’

‘Everything will be like it was before?’

‘Of course. Just make sure Kate doesn’t have any cause to be anxious about me.’

‘I’ll give her none, Nicky. You can rely on me.’

‘I know I can.’

‘Just tell me you’ll be careful.’

‘I’ll be careful.’

He heard her sigh gently. ‘I suppose that’ll have to do.’

Wada sat in a coffee shop in the centre of Reykjavík, waiting for a response to the phone message she’d left for Erla Torfadóttir. The weather was cold and drizzly, the clouds hanging low over the grey city and the silvery arm of the sea it faced.

The city was certainly popular with tourists. There were swarms of Americans, Chinese and assorted Europeans on the streets – even some Japanese. As Wada huddled over her bowl of soup, she wondered what had drawn so many people here. Glacier-trekking, geysers, hot springs, volcanoes and the Northern Lights, according to the adverts on the back of her map. They wouldn’t have drawn her.

But then travel for its own sake had never attracted Wada. She didn’t like breaks in routine. They discomposed her. And she was certainly discomposed now. Though that wasn’t going to stop her doing what she needed to do.

When her phone rang, she answered it even before she saw the caller was Erla Torfadóttir.

‘Hello?’

‘Umiko Wada?’

‘Yes. Erla?’

‘Yes. I’m Erla. I got your message.’ She sounded young, but not exactly carefree. There was a ragged edge of anxiety to her voice. ‘About Martin Caldwell.’

‘Do you know him?’

‘We met last week. We were supposed to meet again.’

‘I was supposed to meet him also. In London. He did not turn up.’

‘And you’ve come to Iceland looking for him?’

‘Yes. Can you help me?’

‘You’re Japanese, Umiko?’

‘Yes. I travelled to London from Tokyo to meet him.’

‘You must have had a good reason to make such a long journey.’

‘I did. Can we discuss this face to face, Erla?’

‘Maybe. But … I need to know … do you work for a Japanese company?’

‘No. I do not.’

‘We have to be careful.’

‘I am always careful. Can we meet?’

There was a long pause, then Erla said, ‘Reykjavík Roasters, Brautarholt, one hour from now. It’s a coffee shop. OK for you?’

‘OK.’