Taisie’s father clapped his hand on Tim’s shoulder. Taisie groaned inwardly. He was pissed. Great.

‘Go on, kids. Make yourselves scarce. Give us a break.’

‘Another one?’ Lorna said wryly.

But she was on the men’s side. Taisie turned to the others. They were waiting for her to make the decision, as usual.

‘Come on, then. We might as well. Ip dip sky blue, who’s it, not you …’

GRACE

Thursday, 19 April 2018

BEFORE I HEAD TO THE POLICE STATION, I CALL PHILLIPA at Financial Logistics. Since Nick is now officially missing, I can’t put it off any longer. She’s sympathetic, but what happens next is not up to her.

‘I’ll need to speak to Angus,’ she says.

Ah, Angus, I think. The man who, unbeknownst to me, has known Nick since he was a teenager. I’d love to know what the policy is for when employees vanish into thin air or if they even have one. I presume this isn’t something they’ve had to deal with before, but you never know.

‘OK.’

She must have heard the tremor in my voice because she offers to wait until Monday.

‘He’s taking a long weekend and he’s already left the office,’ she says. ‘And he hates being disturbed at home.’

‘Thank you.’

‘A lot can happen in three days. Hang on in there.’

After I put the phone down, I feel oddly distant, as though I don’t belong here any more. I’m the woman whose boyfriend has apparently vanished into thin air. My house isn’t empty, but the atmosphere is hollow. Absent, I keep thinking. There’s no smell, no shadow, no noise from the shower, no extravagant sneezes. And in bed at night I’m alone.

Leaving the Vespa in the Asda car park, I walk along the busy high street to the police station for my appointment with DI Marsh. The detective is in his early forties, balding, his head shaved. He has a raised mole at the side of his nose, near his right eye, that I have to keep telling myself not to focus on. He briefly outlines what’s been done so far, warning me not to expect much because it’s too early in the process. He has one of his officers checking local CCTV footage but so far there have been no sightings beyond the Queen’s Arms.

It’s bewilderingly noisy in here; officers on the phone, phones ringing incessantly, conversations and banter. Marsh ignores the cacophony and focuses on me, and soon has me settled in the bubble of his attention.

I tell him everything I know, from the death of Alex Wells’ sister to the business with Nick’s boss. I mention the In-Step app and Anna, even though I’m a little ashamed to, because it makes me feel like a stalker.