‘Sure.’ Adam leaned forward, his face animated as he reeled off a spiel he’d obviously given many times before.

‘The idea came to me in the first few months after the crash. It was clear that so many of us were devasted and struggling to come to terms with what had happened. I realised our voices were more powerful if we came together. So I looked into what I could do to support everyone and make sure we all got the help we needed to cope with what had happened to us. I created the foundation in Vivienne’s memory, setting it up as a charity. You may not realise this but creating a charity from scratch takes a lot of time and effort. I had to write a plausible business plan, set out our aims and put together a board of trustees. The airline was very supportive, as you can imagine, and made several significant donations in the early days. At first, the foundation was focused solely on supporting all those affected by the 975 disaster. As we’ve grown, we now work with victims of all sorts of disasters. We also do consultancy work, advising other people who are thinking of setting up charities.’

‘And funding?’ Ade asked.

‘A mix of donations and lottery,’ Adam said. ‘The airline continues to be a significant donor, but we also work with lots of companies connected with the aviation industry. Corporate Social Responsibility is a big thing in business these days. The organisations we partner with raise significant funds for the foundation. It’s been a huge challenge, but I’d say we’ve been pretty successful to date. I’m certainly very proud of what we’ve achieved.’

‘I assume Robbie played a key role over the years?’ Rachel said.

‘Absolutely.’

‘Did you know we’ve found him?’ Ade said.

Adam’s face paled.

‘Excuse me?’

‘Robbie,’ Ade said. ‘He’s been in Spain all this time. Hiding out at his mother’s.’

They’d got confirmation on the drive over here. Sam had called with an update. The Malaga police had gone back to Robbie’s mother and told her they had proof her son was in Spain. She’d broken down and admitted lying when they’d first spoken to her. She claimed that, after leaving the UK, Robbie had wanted to get away from everything for a while. After Nick’s murder, he’d been worried about being hounded by the press, so he’d asked his mother not to tell anyone where he was.

‘How do you know?’ Adam said. ‘I mean, wow. It’s great he’s okay. Has he said anything about why he disappeared?’

He seemed visibly shaken, which was a reaction Rachel hadn’t expected.

‘Are you okay?’ she said.

‘Yes.’ He drank some coffee. ‘Relieved, I think. I hadn’t realised how worried I’ve been. Now I know he’s okay, well, it’s a weight off my mind.’