Minutes later, he stumbled with relief out of the police station and headed towards the seafront in the early morning sun, which was already baking hot. Sometimes just looking at the churning water, with its steady, dependable rhythm, helped centre him. It was the same at night. At the end of a difficult day, Abs liked to sit on the balcony of his apartment watching the water turn gold in the last burning moments of sunset, enjoying the way its surface glittered as if it was on fire. And when it was dark he’d stay there, breathing in the sea air, listening to the surf on the beach, sensing the seething mass of it.

A faint breeze was coming in from the estuary, but Abs sweated in his hoodie as he strode quickly, trying to get as much distance as he could between him and the station. A car horn blared – someone shouted ‘Abs, mate!’ – and he nearly jumped out of his skin.

He headed onto Marine Parade, where the world-famous pleasure pier pushed across the water, a train transporting visitors along the length of it, its struts stretching into infinity. The arcades were already open for business, and the garbled electronic sounds and music of the games and speaker systems filled the air, competing with the traffic growling on the road and the squawks of the swooping, whirling gulls.

Last night, when Abs was absolutely certain he wasn’t being pursued anymore, he’d retraced the terrifying journey he’d taken through the streets of Brentwood in Jenkins’s car and miraculously managed to find his phone. It was smashed to bits, but at least he could retrieve the SIM card – his entire life was on that piddling bit of silicon – and he’d put it in an old phone he found in a drawer. It rang now and he took it out.

‘Mate,’ he said, trying to sound chipper. ‘How’s it going?’

‘Hey, Abs.’ Jez sounded excited. ‘What are you doing this afternoon?’

‘Uh.’ Abs was shattered. He was planning on going back to his flat to kip. Maybe he’d go to the gym later – it was days since he’d been – and then get an early night. But he really didn’t want to be alone. ‘Nothing mate, why?’

‘We’re having a bit of a celebration,’ said Jez. ‘At Bethany’s parents’.’

Beth’s mum and dad had a place up near Danbury. It wasn’t quite as big as a mansion, but it came close. ‘Yeah? That’s nice, what’s the occasion?’

Jez took a deep breath. ‘Beth’s pregnant, Abs. We’re gonna have a baby.’

‘Oh, mate.’ Abs stopped in his tracks to take in the good news. Jez and Bethany had been trying for ages to have a kid. ‘I’m made up for you both, that’s brilliant news.’

Jez sounded so happy, his mood completely transformed from the previous evening. ‘We’re over the moon, Abs.’