He grew serious then. “Don’t make the mistake of letting yourself feel safe.” He stood up to pull closed an infinitesimal gap in one of the blinds. “That’s when they’ll get you.”

Sam started to list all the ways in which she had to modify her behavior if she wanted to stay free. Avoid cities, train stations, buses. Don’t call anyone. Don’t turn on your mobile phone.

“You can’t take any money out either. Not from cashpoints.”

“What? How are we supposed to eat? And I need some toiletries, moisturizer, lip balm, you know.”

“You can’t be thinking about beauty stuff now, Ruby.”

“It’s not for me. It’s for her. She’s got sore lips. The cold weather isn’t good for sensitive skin.” She looked at the baby, nestled on the beanbag like a little pup in the warm glow from the fire. There was a patch of skin on her chin that she couldn’t seem to stop licking, that by the end of the day was sometimes bleeding. Ruby’s own skin was sore too. Her cheeks were tight from the extreme changes in temperature from outside to inside. Her cracked lips cried out for relief. But it was the baby she wanted the balm for, first and foremost. Her priorities had shifted without her really noticing.

“We’ll be able to get some money,” said Sam. “There are ways to do it without them finding us. We’ll be okay, but you might need to give me your bank card, for security. You’ll get it back.”

“Why can’t we just go and get some money out ourselves?”

“Because they will have set up an alert on your account.”

“They don’t know it’s me, Sam. They’re looking for someone called Constance.”

“If you’re on camera with Leonie, then someone is going to recognize you eventually, and people love to snitch.”

He was right. It was likely they would have made the connection by now. It was safest to behave as if they had.

Ruby checked her wallet. There was a ten-pound note and a few coins. “There’ll be a corner shop in one of the villages. I’ll go there tomorrow.”

“But you can’t go, Ruby. I’ll go.”

“Surely it’s safe to go to some random village shop?”

He shook his head no. “That’s how they get you. You can’t go in any shops. Not if you really want to avoid the hunters.”

“The hunters?”

“That’s what they are, the police. Professional hunters. They think they’ve got the upper hand, too, with all their equipment and tracking technology. But it’s not foolproof. We can beat it, if we’re careful.”