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alteration in his usual routines might give us an indication of what has happened to him.’
                  Jenny sighed. ‘I’ve been thinking about nothing else these last twelve hours. I didn’t pick up on anything different about Nathan at all. Everything’s been normal.’
                  Ewan shifted about in his seat, as if he was suddenly uncomfortable.
                  ‘Have you got anything to add?’ Alice asked him gently.
                  ‘I don’t know if it’s important.’ His eyes flicked between the two people sitting beside him before resting on the female detective. ‘Dad was talking to me a lot about the future. I suppose it’s my age and everything – going off to uni and stuff. He was giving me advice about girls and finding my own way in life - the usual father-son spiel.’
                  ‘But they weren’t the kind of topics your dad would normally discuss with you?’
                  ‘No, that’s right. I got the feeling he was trying to tell me something. I don’t know why, it was just a sense I had.’
                  Jenny swivelled her eyes in the direction of her eldest son. There was a puzzled expression on her face.
                  Alice Mann decided to leave the questions there. ‘We will need to take a look around your house, Mrs McLaren, particularly in your husband’s study. It would also be extremely useful to examine his computer back at the station.’
                  The woman rose up, her posture stooped. ‘Of course, I’ll show you where to go. His phone isn’t there. I’ve been ringing it every half an hour since I realised he’d gone. But there’s no reply.’
                  Alice nodded. She didn’t tell the woman they’d already conducted a trace on Nathan McLaren’s mobile phone number. They could pick up no signal at all from it. The device had either been disabled or destroyed. Instead, the detectives allowed Jenny to lead them solemnly out of the dining room, towards those parts of the house which had been her husband’s domain.
     
     

Chapter 7
     
     
    C arol Calder looked totally shattered. Her pretty face was sunburnt and a sprinkling of freckles had broken out across her cheeks. After throwing herself around the flat for an hour, Amy was finally fast asleep in her toddler bed.
                  Andy walked through to the lounge, where his wife was reclining, with her arms outstretched on the sofa. She was making no move to prepare them any dinner.
                  ‘Shall I fetch us a fish supper?’ He asked tentatively, sensing Carol’s mood may be volatile.
                  ‘Is that what you’ve been eating all weekend?’ She shot back, with an accusatory glance at his broadening stomach.
                  Andy knew that Carol was simply exhausted. She’d have been up in the night with their daughter, what with her being in a strange bed and everything. He had the good sense not to rise to the bait. ‘I ate at the cafeteria when I could. The menu is pretty healthy these days.’
                  Carol’s expression softened. ‘I’m sorry, sweetheart, I didn’t mean to snap.’ She put out her hand. Andy took it and sat on the sofa next to her, sliding his other hand over her curvy thighs, shown off rather nicely in a pair of tight fitting cotton Capri pants.
                  He nuzzled his face into her neck. ‘I missed you.’
                  ‘Not enough to come along with us.’
                  Andy glanced up in alarm, but could see that she was still smiling. ‘You know I had to work.’
                  Carol nodded, running her fingers through his thick hair. ‘Was the Fair really busy? We watched the pictures on the news. It looked as if it was.’
                  ‘Aye, but it went