‘Hi,’ I say. ‘My name is Grace Trelawney. I was wondering whether you were investigating my boyfriend’s disappearance.’

He looks at me blankly.

‘His name is Nick Ritchie. Detective Inspector Marsh from London CID will have got in touch about it. I came down expecting to find the river being searched, but there’s no one there.’

He looks like he’s barely out of college and obviously doesn’t have a clue, but he obliges me by radioing it in. I wait with Anna and Mrs Burrows. Mrs Burrows makes the occasional remark, but neither of us respond. We’re both too tense.

‘Right,’ he says to us, looking pleased that he has something positive to relay. ‘A team is coming. They’re starting tomorrow. London will be informed if anything is found.’

‘Perhaps we should show you the spot,’ Anna says.

But I don’t want to go back down there. I’ve seen the river and the mud, I’ve trodden the path and smelled the leaf rot. It’s too miserable.

‘Mrs Burrows can do that. Come on, let’s go home.’

Anna gazes at the woods longingly, then back at the house. I can feel how torn she is, how much she wants to stay, to spend more time where she last saw her sister. Her shoulders slump as she trudges towards the car.

Douglas calls when we’re about twenty minutes outside London. The Bluetooth picks it up.

‘Hey, where are you?’ he says.

‘On the M4.’

‘Really? Where’ve you been?’

‘To Devon.’ I glance at Anna, but she’s politely looking out of her window. ‘I’ve got a friend with me, Douglas. What do you want?’

‘Just catching up. Who’s with you?’

‘A friend,’ I repeat.

‘Hello, Grace’s friend.’

Anna turns her head with a grimace. ‘Hello.’

‘I would have come with you, if I’d known that’s what you wanted to do, Grace. You should have called.’ His voice is pleasant, but I sense a hint of disapproval in his tone.

‘We went to a place where Nick spent some time when he was younger. Anna knows the area.’

‘Anna?’

‘I’ve told you about her. You’ve met her, remember?’

‘Oh, Kai’s mum. That Anna.’

It’s a bit like knowing owners by their dogs.

‘Douglas, can we not have this conversation here. I’ll speak to you later.’

‘Wait,’ he says. ‘Don’t hang up. Anna. I understand you used to know Nick.’

Anna glances at me.

Sorry, I mouth. I don’t remember telling him but I must have. My mind has been all over the place.

‘Yes I did,’ she says.

‘Well, it’s very kind of you to help Grace, but I don’t think you should be getting involved. This is a police matter. Grace shouldn’t be there, and you definitely shouldn’t.’

‘I didn’t want to come,’ she says sharply.