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the aisle. Wendy had been so relieved that he had stepped into the role of Anna’s father
     that day, a role that had been empty since Anna was a toddler. Wendy realised now that she hadn’t called him; that could wait.
    She lifted her mobile into her lap, put it on loudspeaker, then called Pam. She hated having to ask her sister for help. Pam
     was one of those people who seemed to succeed at everything: she had a great house, a great job, a great husband. She had
     managed to escape to the city long ago, as soon as she’d finished school. When Mum died, eight years ago, it was assumed that
     Wendy would look after Dad. After all, Anna was at university in Sydney by then, so what else did she have to do? She clearly
     didn’t have any dreams of her own. The only thing she had ever done better than her sister was having Anna. Pam didn’t have
     any children. She’d never asked why.
    ‘Hi Pam, it’s me.’
    ‘Hi there, how’s things?’
    ‘Oh, I don’t know where to start.’ She wiped her eyes. ‘Something terrible’s happened. Anna’s in hospital, and they don’t
     know where Jack is.’ She heard Pam gasp. ‘I’ve managed to get a ticket on the first flight to Sydney tomorrow morning. I’m
     on my way to Perth now, but I’m still a few hours away. Can I stay at yours tonight?’
    Pam paused, as if trying to take in what Wendy had said, but quickly recovered. ‘Of course you can. Are you right to drive,
     though? I can come and pick you up.’
    ‘No, no, I’m fine.’ She could hear the hysterical edge in her own voice and knew that she wasn’t really safe to drive. But
     she had to keep going; stopping wasn’t an option. She needed to feel that she was doing something.
    ‘All right. But Wendy … drive carefully, OK?’
    ‘Yes. I’ll see you in a while.’
    After hanging up, she checked the phone for messages in case she’d missed a call, but there were none. She wished she’d asked
     Tony for more information; at the time, she’d been too shocked. She didn’t want to bother him again. Gripping the steering
     wheel tighter to control the shaking in her hands, she looked straight ahead and concentrated on the road.

CHAPTER FIVE
That day
    3 P.M .
    While Ursula drove south towards the cliffs where Anna had been found, Tony sat forward in the passenger seat and scanned
     the unfamiliar streets. His vision had never been more focused, his hearing never clearer. It was a primal, animal instinct
     for survival that sharpened every sense. He’d done everything he could think of: Wendy was flying over, Emily was ringing
     their friends, and his dad and Lisa were contacting family then meeting them at the cliffs.
    He peered out of the window. They’d been driving for half an hour now. It would be dark in a few hours. He had to find Jack
     before night fell. Otherwise, whoever had stolen him would have more chance of getting away; worse still, they might just
     leave him somewhere, cold and hungry. At the thought of Jack scared and alone, he bit the inside of his cheek until he tasted
     the metallic tang of blood. The physical pain stopped his thoughts running away. He needed to concentrate, think, plan. There
     was no time right now for emotion.
    Anna had never believed that he didn’t feel anxious about little things the way she did, but it was true. It wasn’t that he
     didn’t feel the buzz of adrenalin that hummed through him when things started to move out of his control but, unlike her,
     he thrived on it. Anna had told him that it wasn’t healthy to enjoy stress, that he needed to relax more and not work so hard.
     Maybe he should have listened to her. Maybe then he wouldn’t have gone to work this morning.
    That was what it came down to: he should have listened to her.
    The blood trickling inside his mouth brought his thoughts back to the problem that he needed to fix. The answer was simple:
     he had to find Anna’s car and, to do that, he had to see where Anna had been found. Then he