Holly kept the gun firmly on Maggie. The trees gradually thinned out, and the harsh blizzard crackled around the car as they motored through the vortex of snow ahead.

‘Next left,’ the male satnav voice instructed them.

They hit the highway and twenty minutes later were making a right and passing the sign to Astley.

Holly checked the dash.

Under six hours until sunrise. ‘So your friend lives in Brentwood.’ Holly knew the neighbourhood. It was on the wealthier side of town.

‘Yes.’ Maggie was examining the satnav. ‘I can be in and out in minutes.’

‘But if Babysitter is tracking us he’ll know exactly where we’ve gone.’ She observed Maggie blink rapidly as if considering the dilemma.

‘We could park up on the edge of the neighbourhood and walk the last few blocks.’

But Holly had already pre-empted the suggestion. ‘Just get us there as quickly as possible.’

Traffic was sparse but there were a couple of snow tractors already in service in the tree-lined suburbs. Astley was a fishing town that didn’t cater for tourists but had a lively scene for its inhabitants if you knew where to find it. Holly had had fun waitressing there when she’d been in college, but hadn’t returned since.

The car threaded its way through the winding road to the wharf but then Maggie turned them left towards the conspicuously modern housing development bolted to the hills above it.

‘Which road?’

‘Prospect Drive, up ahead.’ Maggie slowed the Scion. ‘We can walk the rest of the way.’ She’d halted at the bottom of someone’s steep drive.

‘How far is it from here?’

‘About two hundred yards, street on the left.’

‘Number?’

Maggie seemed to know what was coming next and said nothing.

‘I’m the only one who’s going.’

‘No way. You’re not taking Penny.’

‘You know I’ll take good care of her,’ Holly reassured her.

Maggie shook her head.

‘I can’t trust you out of my sight. You’ll get into the trunk, and I’ll lock it so you can’t follow.’

‘So you can come back and put a bullet in me.’ She glanced down at the Browning in Holly’s hand.

‘In a residential street? I’ll drop Penny with your friend and come back and let you out. Then we both go to the address. I still need you to talk to Babysitter. I can’t risk Abigail being left defenceless if I go in there alone.’ But Holly could see Maggie wasn’t convinced. ‘Come on, we’re losing time. This is the only way I’m going with this or we take off now and Penny comes with us.’

Maggie didn’t budge.

‘Wait there. I’ll fetch her from the back and you can have a moment with her.’

Holly got out of the passenger side before Maggie could respond. She ignored the harsh breeze and flakes blasting her face, tugged the rear door behind Maggie and unlocked the belt securing Penny in her chair. She was still sleeping. ‘Come on now.’ Gingerly lifting her out, Holly wrapped her in the blanket, closed the back door with her foot and held her out to Maggie’s window.

Maggie opened her door, took her and hugged her so her face rested in the crook of her neck. She regarded the Browning. ‘I’ll be coming back,’ she whispered against Penny’s ear. ‘I’ll be coming back real soon.’

‘OK. Let me take her.’

Maggie was reluctant to let go.

‘Come on. Or you can drive the three of us.’ But Holly found it impossible not to empathise with the moment.

Maggie briefly closed her eyes, kissed the crown of her daughter’s head and gave her back to Holly.

Holly carefully cradled Penny. ‘What’s your friend’s name?’

‘Sascha.’

‘OK. Number?’

‘It’s 335.’

‘Round to the back.’

Maggie slowly emerged and closed the driver’s door.

‘In the trunk.’

She folded her arms.

‘Come on. If I was going to shoot you I could do it now.’ She looked up and down the streetlit road but there was nobody about. ‘Open the trunk and get in.’

Maggie regarded her child in Holly’s arms. ‘Hold her tightly. Shield her from the cold.’

Holly nodded, but didn’t move from the spot.

The wind pulled at Maggie’s hair.

‘Go on.’ Holly gestured at the trunk.

Maggie didn’t take her gaze from Penny as she lifted the lid. ‘See you soon.’ Then she climbed inside.

Holly trotted around and slammed it in place, briefly relieved that Maggie was incapable while she was dealing with Penny. Should she leave her in there even after she’d returned? It was worth considering. She didn’t want any surprises for the remainder of the journey. ‘I’ll be right back,’ she whispered at the trunk and checked she wasn’t being watched through any of the surrounding windows. But they were all curtained and in darkness.

Holly hobbled to 335 with Penny clutched to her shoulder.