It was Jeanne pushing it, humming a tune that made little Luc laugh. Olivier was walking ahead carrying a rucksack. Inside there was enough baby food, milk and nappies to last several days. Tucked in his breast pocket, the ransom letter was burning against his chest like a poultice. His parents had gone away for a few days to stay with friends in the country. He had had to fight hard to be allowed to stay behind. He was sixteen, almost seventeen, and perfectly capable of being left home alone. He clinched it with a promise to call them every day.Later, when Jeanne left him alone with Luc in the cabin, the die would be cast. She would return with the empty pushchair, telling them she had nodded off and woken to find him gone. The following day, the parents would receive the anonymous letter. She would come back to the cabin once a day while he went off to call his parents, until he picked up the money. At that point they would leave Luc at an agreed location and disappear, never to be seen again.
