The peg bag’s missing from the inside back left corner of the tent. Which is where Bryan always puts it, because the thing about camping is that it all turns to custard if you don’t maintain strict order around routine and storage.

So. That’s weird.

Geoff, his camp neighbour, is keen to help him pack up the tent. He’s already done his own. He keeps darting in and out, talking on his cellphone, coming back to check how Bryan’s getting on with the search. Geoff’s with the government but he’d rather not say which department. On holiday? Something like that, he said, when Bryan wandered over to introduce himself on the first day.