Forty minutes later, Mel was dropped off at the house with a reminder that she should go nowhere because they would want to speak to her again. Her mind was numb after the turn of events. I might be charged with possession of cocaine! That would be her business ruined. She sniffed back furious tears as she dug the key out of her handbag and let herself into the house.

It was chilly and unwelcoming, because she’d forgotten to stoke up the fire before she went to the police station, distracted by everything that was going on. She pressed her fingers to her temples, a headache pulsing behind her eyes.

How has everything got so out of control?

Is Luke playing games with me?

He must have planted the cocaine. It was all so obvious now. He’d wanted her in prison so he could be free of her. She scowled, annoyed with herself for not finding the stuff before the house had been searched. So much for a new start. There she was thinking she’d got everything sorted out, and now this.

She stomped into the kitchen and opened the fridge, got out a bottle of wine and popped the cork. She hesitated for a moment as she remembered the possibility of a child in her belly, then decided that the last thing she wanted to be was a single parent, told herself that it had been wishful thinking anyway and there was no point denying herself. Her life had gone to shit and what she needed right now was a drink. She poured herself a large one and gulped it down, quickly filling the glass again. She leant against the worktop, her glass hugged to her chest, and shivered.

It’s a nightmare. A fucking nightmare.

She thought about the note.

When did Luke leave? That was the question. Had he gone on Friday, the last time he was seen? Then she remembered the phone in the forest. Or Saturday, then?

That’s when she’d originally been planning to get to the holiday cottage. Saturday night. But the event had finished late, she’d stayed behind for drinks and Chris, her client, had been very persuasive.

She closed her eyes and pictured Chris, his dark hair, attractively speckled with grey, high cheekbones, straight nose and those beautiful grey eyes. He was suave and charming, and as a senior manager in her client’s company, was off limits in so many ways.

‘Go on, Mel,’ he’d said after their first drink at the end-of-day gathering. ‘Let’s have a bottle of champagne, celebrate success. You did brilliantly, getting everyone on board.’

Mel was on a high, the event having gone so much better than she’d hoped – the tricky managers were now fully committed to the proposed restructuring. It had taken all her wiles, all her neurolinguistic programming skills to get them thinking straight, but now they were she was so happy she thought she might burst into song. Champagne? It was so tempting, but she had to get to the Lake District, having told Luke she’d be there that night. A feeling of dread had built in her chest as she imagined a grotty little cottage somewhere, and compared it to the comfort of the hotel.

‘I’m sorry, Chris. But I really should go.’ She hadn’t sounded very convincing, even to her own ears.

‘One little glass.’ He’d flagged down a passing waiter. ‘Go on. Please? You’re not going to make me drink it on my own, are you?’ He’d given her a gorgeous smile which lit up his face, his eyes twinkling a promise that she hardly dared to believe. He was a very persuasive man and every time she’d tried to say no to him, she ended up saying yes. In fact, over the three months that she’d known him, she’d said yes quite a lot. Which had been immensely enjoyable and not something she could bring herself to regret.

She’d grinned at him. ‘Go on then. Just the one.’

But there’s no such thing as just the one glass of champagne, is there? Well, there wasn’t that night. They’d finished the bottle and ordered another one, while the rest of the management team gradually drifted off to their homes, leaving the two of them alone.

She hadn’t intended to, she told herself, but she’d ended up staying the night with him. It wasn’t the first time they’d slept together; in fact, it had become a regular occurrence over the last three months, even though each time she told herself it wouldn’t happen again. She’d justified it as being Luke’s fault for denying her and anyway, it was only sex. That night it was a delaying tactic as much as anything. Truth be told, she’d been dreading the holiday, because it was so far removed from the one she would have liked. In terms of sparking the relationship back to life, the flicker of hope had started to fizzle out as soon as Luke had described where they were going and what he had planned for them. She’d sent him a text message, telling him she’d been delayed, but if he’d lost his phone, he wouldn’t have received it.

The police had that phone now, though, and would be reading everything on it. Her chest tightened. They’d find her messages, and then start asking all sorts of questions she didn’t want to answer. She took a big gulp of wine, enjoying the warmth that it spread down her throat and into her stomach. She wanted to be numb. Wanted this mess to go away.

The jangling of her ringtone made her jump, and she snatched up her phone, checked the caller and let out a big sigh of relief.

‘Chris.’ Just the mention of his name made her hand gravitate towards her belly. She put her glass down and walked into the lounge.

‘Can you speak?’ His voice was rich and warm and wrapped itself around her like a cosy blanket.

She sighed and settled herself in a chair, a hand to her forehead. ‘Oh, Chris, you wouldn’t believe what’s going on here.’

‘Is he playing up again? I can come and get you. You know that, don’t you? If he lays a finger—’

‘Calm down… sweetheart.’ The word felt right now, not presumptuous at all. He’d rung her, hadn’t he? And he’d called her that just yesterday. ‘He’s not going to hurt me. And anyway, I’m not sure your wife would approve if you dashed up here.’

‘She wouldn’t know.’ There was a heavy lacing of scorn in his voice. ‘She takes absolutely no notice of me, off playing tennis and bridge and whatever else she does with her time. Honestly, we hardly see each other.’

Mel nodded to herself, a warm glow enveloping her heart and spreading through her body. Chris was a passionate man, like her in so many ways; it would kill him to be with a cold woman. An idea of an alternative future, a new beginning, started to build itself in her mind, brick by brick, faster and faster, like a time-lapse video.

‘I don’t like you being with him. You know that.’

Mel smiled and wrapped her hair round her finger.

‘Look, Mel. I’ve been thinking. I know this is sudden, but we’ve known each other for a while now. I’ve always admired you and now we’ve… now that…’ He sighed. ‘I’m making a right hash of this. What I’m trying to say is… I don’t want you to think I’m using you in any way. Any way at all. Mel, I want it… us, to be real.’

Mel’s heart started to race, his words fuelling its rapid beat.

‘Oh, Chris. I know you’re not using me. I know that.’

She could hardly believe it. He’d been thinking along the same lines as her. He had! Soulmates, that’s what they were. Bloody identical. She allowed herself to fantasise for a moment, wonder what it might be like to share her life with someone who thought the same way. How much easier than constantly having to stand her ground and fight for what she thought was right. All the bloody time. Her body felt weary just thinking about it, the muscles in her shoulders a little more tense.

He sighed and she could visualise him stalking around, his hand pulling at his earlobe, a little tic of his that she found adorable. ‘I worry about you.’

‘I know, sweetheart. I know.’ Mel sighed, thinking how easily that word came out of her mouth. Sweetheart. It felt so right. ‘But things seem to have changed.’ She paused. Should I tell him? Involve him? ‘Luke’s gone.’

There, it was out in the open, and it was a relief. Can he help me? she wondered. Will he want to? Or will he run a mile at the thought of trouble?

‘Gone? What do you mean?’

‘Well, he’s disappeared. With the kids. Didn’t you see the news? I did an appeal for information.’

‘What? No, I never really watch the news. You’re kidding?’

‘When I got here, the place was empty, deserted, all the lights on. Honestly, it was weird. His car’s here, but they went out and haven’t come back.’

‘Christ!’ There was silence for a moment. ‘So where do you think they are?’

She hesitated for a moment, wondering if she’d said too much. ‘I don’t know. The police are involved now, though. In fact, I shouldn’t be talking to you.’

‘Let me come and get you. Please, Mel.’

She dithered for a minute, uncertain. Run away? Leave this mess behind? It was tempting, so very tempting. She rubbed at her forehead as she thought it through for a moment.

‘No, Chris. That wouldn’t look good, would it? No, I’ve got to stay here.’ She could hear his breath rattling down the phone, and a part of her wondered whether she should just let him take control. Wouldn’t that be easier? Jesus, this needs some careful thought.

She swallowed. ‘Look, I’ve got to go.’

‘I love you, Mel.’

Her breath stuck in her throat. He loves me? She closed her eyes, embracing the passion embodied in those three words and the promise they contained. The possibility of a different life.

‘Oh, Chris. I don’t want to drag you into this. Really. Look, I can’t talk now. It’s probably better if you wait for me to contact you.’

‘Oh, Mel.’ Her heart dissolved at the emotion in his voice and she had to fight not to contradict herself, tell him to come and get her. ‘Are you sure? I don’t mind. I really want—’

‘I know, sweetheart. I know. I’ll call you. It might be a day or two. But I’ve got to sit it out.’ She clenched her jaw, telling herself she was doing the right thing. What would the police think if she ran away? No, she had to stay. For now, anyway.

‘Well, give me your address, just in case you change your mind.’

She thought for a moment and decided that having a contingency plan wasn’t a bad idea. She delved into her handbag and brought out the map that Luke had printed off and read out the postcode, gave him the name of the cottage.

‘Take care,’ Chris said. ‘And ring me. Promise you’ll ring me.’

‘I will. I will.’ She hung up, the phone grasped so tightly in her hand that her knuckles were white. She sat for a moment, staring at the fire as she worked things through. Then she found a pen and the little notebook in her bag where she kept clients’ contact details, wrote down his personal mobile number and deleted all evidence of Chris from her phone, along with all the messages she’d sent to Luke. Hopefully the police wouldn’t be able to get into his phone and they’d never know what had passed between them. That thought made her feel much better.