Then, ten seconds later, with the car parked up on the side of the road, a figure emerged. Angelica. Dressed in what looked like the same outfit she’d been wearing only twenty minutes before. She skipped towards the car, climbed in, and then drove off, unknowingly heading towards her death.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Tomek was certain Angelica Whitaker had climbed into the car because it was someone she had known. Someone she’d trusted.

Shortly after seeing the footage, he’d asked Chey and Martin to call round to the local taxi companies to see if they’d received any requests for a pickup at Angelica’s house, but none of them had reported receiving any such calls. Then he’d asked them to put in a request with Uber for the same information. But he was doubtful. There was something about the way she’d skipped towards the car, with a spring in her step, and just climbed into the front seat without hesitation. There was none of that “Pick up for Angelica?” nonsense that came with getting into a taxi, that brief pause when you spoke with the driver to make sure he was in the right place. No, this was someone she’d known. Someone she was expecting.

And who else fit that brief better than an ex-boyfriend?

Tomek knocked on the door to Sammy Mercer’s home and waited. A few moments later, the front door opened, and he was greeted by a woman in her late fifties, sporting a bobbed haircut with a pair of thick glasses pressed closely against her face. She looked at him, confused.

‘Yes?’ she asked, hesitation and caution lacing her tone.

Tomek took a step back to allay her incipient fear, then removed his warrant card from his pocket. ‘I wonder if I’m in the right place. Does Sammy live here?’

‘Sammy?’

‘Yes. Sammy Mercer. I was wondering if I could speak with him.’

‘Sammy? The police? What do you want with Sammy?’

‘It’s regarding Angelica Whitaker…’

The woman’s face brightened at the mention of Angelica’s name. ‘Oh, Angie. I do miss her… and Sammy was never the same after they split up. But… but is she okay? Is everything all right?’

Tomek didn’t have time for this.

‘Is Sammy home? I really need to speak to him.’

‘Oh. Yes. Right. Okay. Yes, he’s in.’

As she called out her son’s name, she pushed the door to, as though trying to stop Tomek from hearing. A moment later, a deep voice called from somewhere in the house.

‘He’s just on his way,’ Sammy’s mother said, but made no gesture to invite him into her home. They waited awkwardly, staring at each other, Tomek waiting to be let in.

When the invitation didn’t come, he asked, ‘Is it all right if I speak with Sammy inside? This is important.’

‘All right, Mum, what’s⁠—’

Sammy jumped down from the bottom step and came into view. Attached to his head was a pair of gaming headphones connected to a PlayStation controller in his hand. Here was a man in his early thirties, wearing tracksuit bottoms and a T-shirt, who still lived with his parents and played video games. Tomek imagined the man had multicoloured LED lights flashing above his computer screen and behind his headboard, and a wall of Pokémon toys and cards taking pride of place on a bookshelf.

‘Sammy, this is the police.’

‘Hi.’ Tomek smiled, giving a little wave.

He didn’t wait for a response, nor did he wait for an invitation, he stepped into the cramped doorway and gestured towards another room inside the house. ‘Shall we?’

‘Mum, what’s this about?’

‘I don’t know, darling. Why don’t you do what the man says and we’ll discuss it together.’

Tomek was reluctant to speak with Sammy with his mum present, but decided it would be the path of least resistance, and so he conceded. They moved into the kitchen, where Tomek rested against the counter beside the stove, and pulled out his notebook, crossing one leg over the other.

‘Is it Sammy or Sam?’

‘Sam’s fine.’

The man lifted his chest, but there was no amount of puffing that meant Tomek would take him seriously, not while he still had the headphones on his head.

‘I’ll keep this short and sweet,’ Tomek began. ‘I’m here to ask you a few questions about your relationship with Angelica Whitaker.’

‘’Lica? Why? What’s happened to her? She’s not been saying stuff, has she?’

‘What stuff would that be?’

‘Just… stuff.’

‘Care to elaborate?’

‘Not until I know what you’re asking about.’

‘It’s come to our attention that you were in a relationship together?’

‘Yes…’

‘How long for?’

‘About six months.’ The caution in Sammy’s tone was abundant.

‘Can you remember when it started? What month?’

Contemplation. ‘March last year.’

‘And six months would take you to September last year?’

‘When she got back from the end of her season, yeah.’

‘So she was with you throughout the season, when she was jetting around the world?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Did you see much of her during that period?’

‘We tried. She came over once or twice. But in the end it was difficult.’

‘I’m not surprised. Who ended it?’

‘She did. Said that we were in different places, that I weren’t mature enough.’ He wagged the remote control in the air as he said it, making it difficult for Tomek to disagree with her.