He drove off still seeing that damned smile in his mind’s eye and wondering whether he’d ever been called ‘babes’ before. Not that he could recall. But then, he’d never started really getting to like a quirky, dark-haired Scottish policewoman before, either. And a voice in his head had to remind him that, in the midst of all that was happening, this was neither the time nor the place to start liking someone.

Confusing. Ben lit a Gauloise as he drove over to the village stores. The midday sky had choked up with white clouds and it was beginning to snow again. He parked the Mazda outside the shop and went inside. The same old guy with the bushy white moustache was tending the counter. They exchanged a nod and Ben set about culling the items he needed from the shelves. A pack of streaky bacon rashers, a box of farm-fresh eggs, a large tin of baked beans and the bottle of vegetable oil he’d been specifically ordered not to forget. He shelled out a twenty from the bent cops’ payoff cash, waited for his change, bagged up his stuff, thanked the old guy and walked back outside into the falling snow.

That was when PC Brown’s phone rang a second time.

Ben halted in the middle of the pavement. Large fluffy snowflakes settled on his hair and shoulders. A cold trickle went down the back of his neck. He didn’t move for a second. Brown’s phone kept ringing. Ben was wondering who was calling. He had a bad feeling about it.

Slowly, he reached into the pocket where the phone was and took it out. Hit reply and held it to his ear.

And then the worst happened.

Stuart’s familiar voice said, ‘Change of plan, Mr Hope.’

Whatever this was about, Ben didn’t like it. ‘So you’ve decided you don’t want what I have to offer?’

‘Not at all. I just decided to change the terms of our arrangement.’

‘Then there is no arrangement,’ Ben said.

Stuart gave a laugh. He sounded confident and in control. Almost happy. Ben didn’t like that either.

‘I think you’ll come around to seeing it differently,’ Stuart said. ‘Considering that now I have something else of yours that I’m sure you’d like to have back in relatively undamaged condition. All the time you and little Miss Kirk have been spending together lately, it seems you’ve grown quite fond. Call it a trade. You give me the gold. And you get to see her again, alive and intact. As opposed to diced up into small pieces.’

Ben said nothing. He felt suddenly very cold, as though his blood had frozen to a standstill. The world seemed to have tilted sideways. His feet felt cemented to the pavement.

Stuart chuckled again. ‘Hello? Are you there?’