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Elin

Parque Nacional, Portugal, October 2021

The decking is dark, slick with water by the time they get back to the Airstream, the light drizzle becoming a downpour, the clouds above now a solid mass.

‘I need a shower.’ Shaking water off her hood, Elin shivers. For the first time since they’ve arrived, there’s a proper chill in the air, as if winter’s already taken a bite out of it.

‘Me too, but we should probably get some food on.’ Isaac steps forwards, unlocks the door, but before Elin can follow him inside, she’s interrupted by the loud trill of her phone.

A Portuguese number.

‘Is this … Elin?’

She immediately recognises the voice: Luísa, from the gallery. ‘Yes, it is.’

‘Apologies if I’m interrupting, but you said to get in touch if I remembered anything about Kier.’

‘That’s right.’ Stepping inside the Airstream, she mouths Luísa’s name to Isaac. He raises an eyebrow.

‘It’s about the last time Kier came to the gallery. I spoke to my colleague, Ines, about Kier, and she said that she went to get a coffee after Kier left, and she saw a man following her. At first, Ines thought it was someone just walking the same way, but when Kier stopped to look in a few of the shops, she noticed that he stopped too.’

Elin’s skin prickles. ‘Do you know if Kier acknowledged the man in any way?’

‘No, I don’t think so. That’s why Ines was concerned. She was about to approach Kier, but she went into a café, and Ines lost sight of the man.’ Luísa hesitates. ‘I know it might be nothing, but given what you said, about her being missing …’

‘No … that’s really helpful, thank you.’ Elin stumbles over her words, thrown a little by the tone of Luísa’s voice. A genuine concern. She clears her throat. ‘And Kier hadn’t mentioned anyone following her to you?’

‘No.’

‘Did Ines say if she recognised the man?’

‘I’m afraid not. He had a cap on and she only saw him from behind.’

‘Sounded interesting,’ Isaac says as the call wound down.

Elin nods. ‘One of Luísa’s colleagues thought she saw a man following Kier in the town, after she left the gallery. Luísa sounded worried.’

A note of fear creeps into his voice. ‘Same person who set up the camera in her van?’

‘It’s possible.’ Glancing outside, Elin feels cold all over. She doesn’t want to voice it, not without definitive proof, but her gut’s telling her that Kier never left this park.