how he had cautioned her. Mackenzie was the most likely candidate. And yet the teacher had seemed to be genuinely unaware of the hollow where Aurora’s body had been hidden.
Jonah’s instinct was still to look at Connor and Daniel and Brett, who had all been there with Aurora that night, and had known about the place she had been hidden.
As he passed through Brook and saw signposts to Fritham, his thoughts went to Jojo Magos’s cottage. And from there he began thinking again of the morning after Aurora’s disappearance. To Jojo and Brett, panicking as they sealed off the hole in the ground that held Aurora. He needed to go over that in detail with Brett. Part of him still found it a strangely cold reaction, and that troubled him.
He drew level with the junction of Furzley Lane, the road that led past Jojo’s cottage, and glanced down it. And then he slowed the car, and looked again at the orange-red halo against the navy blue of the sky. It looked almost like the sodium glow of streetlamps. Only there were no streetlamps along the road, and the light was coming from somewhere near Jojo’s.
There was an icy feeling in his chest as he slowed the car to a stop, and then yanked it round in a U-turn. It was lucky there had been nobody behind him. He hadn’t even checked.
The traction control came on as he took the corner into Furzley Lane. He ignored it and kept the acceleration up. He whipped past two driveways, his eyes going constantly to the glow that was now on his right. He could see smoke now. A pillar of dirty black blotting out the rich glow.
It was coming from Jojo’s house.
* * *
—
HANSON SWITCHED HER desktop off at eight, feeling vaguely dissatisfied. She didn’t really know what she was looking for in all the notes, and hadn’t seen anything today that looked like a strong inconsistency or lie.
Lightman was still working. He gave her a distracted smile when she said goodbye to him.
She had only driven a hundred yards from the station when a call cut through the radio. A moment later, Damian’s name flashed up on the screen on the dashboard.
She had a falling sensation in her stomach. She thought about ending the call, but knew he would just ring again. So she turned the volume right down and let it ring out. Nine rings, and then the noise ended and the radio cut back in.
A few moments later, the radio was interrupted again by the sound of a text arriving. She kept driving, and willed herself to ignore it. But she was caught by a red light on Midway Road, and after a second or two of resisting she turned the engine off and reached to fish her phone out of her bag.
She had time to unlock her phone and see Damian’s message pop up as a banner at the top of the screen.
I need to see you. I’m at your house.
The falling feeling stepped up into a wave of anxiety. What the hell was he doing in Southampton? She thought she’d finally left him behind when she’d moved away from Birmingham.
The lights changed. She shoved the phone onto the passenger seat, started the engine hurriedly, and began to drive. She was only two miles from home, and the traffic was light. She would be there within minutes.
She felt disconnected from her body as she continued to drive, her mind going in circles. What did he want to talk about? Was he angry? Was he going to plead with her?
At the next lights, she picked the phone up again and typed back, I’m not there. Working late. I’ll call you tomorrow, maybe.
His reply came less than a minute later, and she glanced down to read it on the screen.
I’m not going anywhere. When will you be home?
She could feel her heart picking up its pace. Home was getting ever closer. She imagined him waiting next to his car. Maybe smiling. Maybe tight-faced with fury.
There was another buzz as a new message arrived, but this time, she saw it was from her boss. She hesitated for a moment, but decided not to read it. It was too late for work, she thought, and if it had been urgent, she was sure Sheens would have called. Which was really just a justification for not being able to deal with anything else right now.
Half a mile farther on, she