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you give a shit.
    He phoned Rachel and left a message of his own. She was probably on her way already, was almost certainly somewhere on the Northern line. He made for the underground himself, steeling himself for the trip to his mother’s warden-controlled flat in Swiss Cottage.
    As he walked, he realised that his mother would see the bag. It was purple with white cord handles and the name of the jeweller in gold lettering. He couldn’t show her the bracelet for obvious reasons.
    He decided that if she asked, he’d tell her he’d bought himself a new watch.
    Lee wasn’t stupid – God, it would all have been a lot easier if he were – but it couldn’t be very much longer before he noticed how often she was going to the toilet or taking a shower just before seven o’clock.
    She collected her bag on the way upstairs, then, once she’d locked the bathroom door she switched the phone on, set it to VIBRATE ONLY, and waited.
    Tonight she was desperate, had been since Alan had failed to meet her at lunchtime. She’d waited in the woods for twenty minutes before she’d got a signal, before the alert had come through. She’d listened to his message once then erased it as always. Walked back towards the tube, unravelling.
    Sitting with her back against the side of the bath, she thought there was every chance that he might not ring at all. His excuse for not turning up had sounded very much like an excuse. Not that she could blame him for wanting to call a halt to things. She knew how hard it was for him in so many ways …
    She almost dropped the phone when it jumped in her hand.
    ‘Where were you?’
    ‘Didn’t you get the message? I was at my bloody mother’s.’
    ‘I thought you might have made it up.’
    ‘Jesus, Rachel.’
    ‘Sorry …’
    A sigh. Half a minute of sniffs and swallows.
    ‘God, I wish I could see you,’ he said. ‘Now, I mean. I’ve got something for you. I wanted to give it to you this afternoon.’
    ‘I’d like to see you too.’
    ‘Can you?’
    The hope in his voice clutched at her. ‘There might be a way.’
    ‘By the tree in half an hour. The woods don’t shut until eight.’
    ‘I’ll try.’
    When she’d hung up she dialled another number. She spoke urgently for a minute, then hung up again. When she heard the landline ringing a few moments later she flushed the toilet and stepped out of the bathroom.
    Lee was holding the phone out for her when she walked into the lounge. She took it and spoke, hoped he could hear the shock and concern in her voice despite the fact that he hadn’t bothered to turn the television down.
    ‘That was Sue,’ she said afterwards. ‘Her brother’s been in a car accident. Some idiot talking on his mobile phone, ploughed into the back of him on the motorway. I said I’d go round.’
    Lee’s team had been awarded a penalty. Without turning round to her, he waved his consent.
    He was astonished to see her leave the house alone at night. The husband did, of course, jumped in his sports car every so often to collect a takeaway or shoot down to the off license, but never her .
    He’d been planning to do it during the day; he knew the quiet places now, the dead spots en route where he could take her with very little risk, but he wasn’t a man to look a gift horse in the mouth.
    This was perfect, and he was as ready as he’d ever be.
    He presumed she’d be heading for the tube at High Barnet. He got out of his car and followed her.
    It took Alan ten minutes to get to the woods. By half past seven he’d got everything arranged.
    He hadn’t wanted to just give her the bracelet. He’d wanted her to come across it, to find it as if by some piece of good fortune. Luck had played such a big part in their coming together, after all, which is why he’d chosen the charm that he had. There was only really one place that he could leave it.
    The light was fading fast. The few people he saw were all moving towards one or other of the various exits. He dialled