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It’s too late now. PC Adams is standing up, and I have no choice but to let him search the house. ‘It won’t take long,’ he assures me. ‘You can stay here.’
After an agonising wait, he finally comes back into the living room. I search his face, try to get a feel for what he’s about to say so I can prepare myself. But his lips form a thin smile and he tells me he’s all done.
‘This will be logged on the system. Please let us know straight away if you hear from him or if he turns up. You’ll be contacted by someone from missing persons.’
I’m tempted to stand by the window and watch him, just to make sure he’s gone, but no doubt he’d notice me. Instead I go to the kitchen and fill a glass with water, drinking it all in one go.
And then it hits me, like a truck slamming into me: How am I going to explain to Poppy why her dad can’t even call to say goodnight to her? And what if something truly terrible has happened to him this time?
The first thing I do when I get to work is check my locker. The envelope with the money in it is still there, but that does little to relieve my anxiety. I need it gone. I need some answers to go to the police with, so that they will put every resource they can spare into finding Max.
And then he’ll no longer be out there, a threat looming over me, paralysing me.
‘Everything okay?’
I slam the locker shut and turn to face Cole. ‘Yeah, just, um…’ I need something to distract him. ‘Um, Max has gone missing. A few days ago. I was just at the house with a police officer.’
Cole looks shocked. ‘Oh, that’s…I’m sorry.’
‘He’s probably just avoiding me. Avoiding everyone. I’m sure he’ll be back.’
‘But aren’t you worried? First he’s attacked, and now this? Something feels a bit weird to me.’
‘Then maybe you should channel that into your book instead of my life,’ I snap. ‘He’ll be fine. He’s cooling off somewhere. Getting used to the fact that our marriage is over.’
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to?—’
‘No, I’m the one who should apologise. I shouldn’t have said that.’ The look on Cole’s face makes me loathe who I’m becoming. I’ve never spoken to him so harshly before.
‘It was a bit cruel,’ he says. ‘You know how much my novel means to me. I put everything into it. When I’m not here, that is.’
‘I know, I’m sorry.’
That seems to appease him. ‘Don’t worry about it. Shall we get back downstairs? I had to lock the door, and there might be customers trying to come in. And it’s not professional, is it? When we’re open, we’re open.’
I’m on edge for the rest of the morning, constantly on alert, my head bolting up whenever anyone comes into the shop. At least now I know what the driver of the Golf looks like. His faceis permanently ingrained in my memory: the upturned nose and eyes set wide apart. Dark salt-and-pepper hair. Along with how, for those infinite seconds, he had my life in his hands.
Cole’s having lunch in the staffroom when Taylor appears. ‘Hey, are you okay?’ he asks.
I glance around to make sure Cole hasn’t suddenly appeared, relaxing an iota when there’s no sign of him. ‘The police were at my house earlier. I had to report Max missing. Otherwise, how would it look?’
‘Yeah, I guess. What did you say?’
‘I made it seem like we were fine, and that I was still living there. Otherwise they would have started questioning my involvement. And I’m sure heisfine.’
Taylor doesn’t look convinced. ‘How do you know that, though? The same person who attacked him could have?—’
‘I can’t be sure, but I think he sent me this last night.’ I pull out my phone and scroll to the message. ‘He must have got a new phone.’
Taylor scans the message. ‘I don’t like this. He’s not letting this go, is he?’ He frowns. ‘Are you sure you’re being honest with me? There’s nothing I should know?’
‘No! What are you saying?’
‘Nothing. Sorry. My head’s just a mess. Since I was a kid, my mum’s been drumming it into me not to trust anyone. It’s kind of stuck.’
‘Did you trust Alice?’ I don’t know what makes me say this, and for a second Taylor looks as shocked as I am.
Before he can answer, I hear Cole’s footsteps on the stairs. ‘Quick, you have to go. Cole’s seen you in here before. He’ll ask questions.’
