The Man Made of Smoke

Dan goes to the Reach, where his father’s car is still parked, and runs into Craig Aspinall, the last person to see John before his disappearance. Dan can tell that Aspinall feels guilty for not realizing that John was in despair. He assures Aspinall that such guilt is common in survivors. Aspinall hands Dan the keys to John’s car and tells him that John had seemed like he was in a hurry when he met Aspinall, as if he had urgent business to attend.

Dan drives away in the car, sure that the urgent business to which Aspinall referred is finding Darren Field. Although there is a chance that Field may be the man who murdered the woman in the woods, Dan thinks it’s unlikely since killers seldom lead people to their doorstep. Dan goes to Field’s house on the mainland. Field’s wife, Marie, answers the door, and she tells Dan that Field has been missing for the last couple of weeks, probably because he has deserted her for another woman. She also instantly recognizes John’s car and tells Dan that an older man came in this car to meet Field the day before he disappeared. The men had a serious private conversation and emerged from it looking grim.