‘Oh, I didn’t mean …’ My face flushes. Luckily, I spot Carl turning off the main road ahead and am able to change the subject. ‘He’s heading towards Bovey Tracey,’ I say. ‘Suzanne, from the agency, mentioned they had a new instruction the other day. Carl was rushing off to it when I was trying to catch him.’

‘Or he’s off meeting up with another woman,’ Davina says as she leans forward and takes her handbag from the footwell.

‘You okay?’ I ask.

‘Oh yes. Just getting my phone ready. Keep a good distance but not too far away. I need to be close enough to get good, clear footage.’

‘You’re going to record him?’

‘Of course. If he’s up to no good, we need evidence, Amber. Haven’t you been listening to me?’

‘Yes, yes. Sorry.’

‘He’s pulling over. Stop here.’

I do as Davina says and park on the same side of the road as Carl. There are a few other parked cars in between us, so hopefully he can’t see us. We wait in silence as he climbs out of his Mercedes and casts a cautious glance around him. I instinctively duck down despite knowing it’s very unlikely he’d spot me. He might, however, recognise my car. My heart rate speeds up.

Carl reaches the front door of a detached house and hovers there. He looks at his mobile and begins pacing. Just the same as he was doing when I watched him on the SmartRing app when he was at my house.

‘Someone’s approaching him,’ Davina whispers, her phone held up.

A woman – tall, slim, blonde – walks up to Carl. It’s hard to tell from this distance, but they don’t seem to say anything to each other. Carl opens the door and they both disappear inside.

‘And now we wait,’ Davina says, pressing pause on the phone’s recorder.

Chapter Fifty

Barb

Amber has just driven off – and with Davina in the passenger seat.

Why is Amber with her? She told me herself she despises her nosy neighbour and doesn’t ever want her stepping foot in the house. She’s a lot of things, Amber, but not usually one to go back on her decisions – as the current situation with Nick and Richard proves. Whatever could’ve changed her mind and compelled her to want to spend any time with Davina? As much as it bothers me, I’ve no time to think about it now, though. I’ve got to focus on the job in hand. I might not have long.