Please don’t let them be dead.

Because then I will die too.

She parked at the petrol station. A man was filling up his car, but there was no sign of anyone else. She’d found a picture of Alex online so that she’d recognise him. She positioned herself a short distance away from her car, constantly looking around to make sure she hadn’t been followed, checking that the man with the Wellingtons hadn’t come after her.

A car pulled off the road and parked not far from the pumps. A tall, grey-haired man got out. He glanced in her direction and raised his eyebrows inquiringly.

Tina nodded.

She couldn’t stop thinking about the man with the Wellingtons.

How would she know if she could trust Alex Recht? Noah might have been wrong; maybe Alex was the person behind all the bad stuff.

If he’s the one who betrayed Noah, then I’ve had it.

‘Tina?’

She nodded again. She was so tired. Alex took out his ID and gave her as much time as she needed to examine it. He jerked his head in the direction of the man filling up his car.

‘Someone you know?’

‘No,’ Tina said, handing back his ID.

They waited until the man had paid and driven off.

‘Why here?’ Alex asked.

‘It seemed like a good place.’ That was the best she could come up with.

‘You look tired. Shall we go and sit in my car, have a chat?’

She took a step backwards. ‘No.’

‘Okay, we won’t do anything you don’t want to do, or anything that doesn’t feel right.’

Tina could see he was wondering why she was afraid to get in his car. She could also see endless patience in his eyes, oceans of calmness and wisdom.

‘I went to Malin and Dan’s house today.’

‘Noah’s brother and sister-in-law?’

‘Yes. I have a spare key, but I hadn’t used it before. Well, I had, but only when Malin asked me to.’

‘To water the plants and take care of the post when they were away?’ Alex said with a smile.

‘Exactly. But this time I went in anyway, because Noah said the police wouldn’t listen to him, and I thought I might find a clue, something that would help me work out what had happened to Malin and Dan.’

She fell silent; it had started raining.

Alex glanced towards his car.

‘How about this for an idea? You sit in the front seat on the driver’s side with the door open or closed, whichever you prefer. I’ll sit in the back on the other side. Okay?’

Tina wished she was a little girl again so that she wouldn’t have to make decisions, wouldn’t have to worry about what was right or wrong.

‘Okay,’ she whispered.