How the hell had they worked out what he was up to? He’d killed the police investigation, made it clear that no crime had been committed. That didn’t apply to Alex Recht, of course. Why did he always have to go his own way, follow his instincts? And then there was Noah, who’d emailed to tell him he’d contacted Recht. The solution to that particular problem worried Ross. He had his suspicions about who’d killed Noah, but didn’t dare investigate the matter any further. Noah’s death had certainly made things more difficult for him. He was going to have to work faster, bring his project to an end sooner than planned. He’d already given notice on the house, which had been a mistake. He should have waited until it was all over.

So that no one would start asking questions.

On the other hand, giving notice meant he had a clear deadline, which was a motivating factor. His mobile lay on the passenger seat, switched off and with the battery removed. No fucker was going to find him through modern technology. Unfortunately it meant his wife wouldn’t be able to reach him, which was a worry. She had a tendency to get herself into a state; if he was quiet for too long she’d call the police. Which would be very unfortunate for a number of reasons.

He’d left the motorway just under fifteen minutes ago. The road cut through dense forest; nobody would expect that anyone could live out here.

They can’t – they can only die here.

He would be there soon; anxiety and irritation had made him drive much too fast.

But I have to know.

He hadn’t thought it would happen so quickly. He’d run a thorough background check on the couple, knew that the man had suffered a period of severe depression a few years earlier. There was no doubt that he would break first, which was the whole point of the exercise. He had to realise that there was no way out of the hell in which he found himself, realise that he must die in order to gain redemption. And that he must take his family with him into eternity so that they could stay together.

The family. The children. Ross didn’t like thinking about them. Their deaths were a necessary evil; it wouldn’t have worked if he’d left them out of the equation. The punishment would have been disproportionate.

He peered through the windscreen, searching for the narrow track. If he met another car, one of them would have to reverse. Not that that was going to happen; who was he going to meet on a track no one even knew existed?