‘No, I know,’ Ben said. ‘I just meant—’

‘I know what you meant,’ Callum interrupted. ‘But the problem is, we need you, Ben. Just … not quite in the way we said we did.’

From nowhere, Ben heard Lance’s voice echoing from the darkroom. You know there’s more to it than you think, don’t you?

‘What … what do you mean?’ said Ben. He didn’t like the way Callum was looking at him. He didn’t trust the glint in his eye.

‘I mean, no one would have believed you anyway,’ Callum said. ‘Even with the book, and the photos, and all the time you’ve spent alone with Father Steiner – it was never going to be enough. We’ve done this before, you see. Which is why the plan this time was always slightly different.’

When Ben looked around, he saw Lance and Melissa had drifted slightly apart, blocking the most obvious pathways back into the trees. Lance’s hand was behind his back.

‘Look, I … I’ve changed my mind,’ Ben said, edging towards the water. ‘It was just the photos that were making me nervous. I … I overreacted. But it’s not too late. We can still do everything exactly as we planned. If I … if somehow I …’

‘But that’s what I’m trying to tell you,’ Callum said, creeping forward. ‘This is exactly what we planned.’

And that’s when Ben felt the knife against his throat.

Sunday 27 October, 10.19 a.m.

They were halfway to Beaconsfield when they heard the emergency call being reported on the radio.

Fleet was sitting up front beside the driver. DC Bevan was in the back. As the news came in, Fleet and the driver exchanged a glance. They already had the lights going. Without needing to be told, the driver hit the siren.

The PC drove fast and smoothly, but even so Fleet gripped the handle above the door. Start praying we’re not already too late, he’d told Bevan, but the emergency call suggested the killer’s endgame was already in motion. Fleet couldn’t bring himself to think about what that might mean for Nicky.

As the buildings around them began to thin, the traffic eased slightly as well, and when they finally escaped the city, the roads opened up completely. The PC had muted the siren when they’d made it out into the countryside, and now Fleet could hear other sirens in the distance. It was hard to tell whether the sounds were coming from up ahead or from somewhere behind them.

Two minutes out from the school, the traffic began to pick up again, but all the cars were heading in the opposite direction.

‘How many officers were already at the school for the memorial service?’ Fleet asked Bevan.