Launch Code

SEVEN

Alice drove fast to Hunstanton. It wasn’t far, and although it was dark, the roads were empty. The supermarket was just the other side of town and was open twenty-four hours a day.

Alice parked by the entrance and swiftly filled a basket with staples that they might need more of over the next couple of days: milk, bread, coffee, the kind of yoghurt that Maya liked. She swept her purchases through the self-service checkout, and then drove back to Barnholt.

She clenched the steering wheel tightly. She thought she had built a good rapport with Sam. He seemed to like her, indeed he seemed to enjoy the company of all the Guth family. She liked him.

But he was dangerous.

How dangerous, she didn’t yet know.

Once she reached Barnholt, she turned off the main road, but rather than going on along the back lane to the house, she parked by the green, just opposite the King William. The lights were on and there were a number of cars in the parking lot: it wasn’t quite closing time.

Alice took a deep breath, opened the car door, and stepped out into the night.

It was well after eleven by the time Alice got back to Pear Tree Cottage. She noticed that there were still lights on in the living room, and in her father’s study upstairs.

She opened the front door and carried her two shopping bags through to the kitchen.

Toby joined her. ‘The Redskins won,’ he said.

‘I bet Dad was pleased.’

He kissed the back of her neck. She didn’t respond. ‘You took your time,’ he said. ‘That’s not much to show for an hour and a half in the supermarket. I was getting worried.’

‘I had to go to King’s Lynn to get everything I needed,’ said Alice brusquely. ‘Has everyone else gone to bed?’

‘I think so. Shall I give you a hand?’

‘No,’ said Alice sharply. ‘I’ll put it all away; you won’t know where it goes. You go upstairs and I’ll be with you soon.’

But once she had put the groceries away, she crept upstairs to her father’s study. By the time she slipped into bed next to her husband, he was fast asleep.