George asked, ruthlessly Molly thought:

“You said that you knew a little about ornithology. When did you become interested in birds?”

“When I left school, I did hotel work. I worked in Scotland and in mid-Wales. I met some birdwatchers near Tregaron.”

“Have you ever been to the Isles of Scilly?”

“Yes,” she said uncertainly. “I worked for a season in a hotel on Tresco.”

“When?”

“Two summers ago.”

“Did you meet any birdwatchers there?”

“Yes,” she said.

“But not Tom.”

“No,” she said definitely. “Not Tom.”

“And not Peter Littleton?”

“I don’t know anyone called Peter Littleton.” She was so desperate to convince them, she was nearly shouting.

Barnaby looked up from his bricks, and in his child’s nonsense language gave a perfect imitation of the tone and inflection of her last sentence. It was a piece of pure clowning and he looked around him, expecting applause. When, in the embarrassed silence, none came, he clapped himself and laughed, and only then did the adults join in.

They drove back to Ella’s cottage then. They had promised Adam a lift home. Ella seemed to have taken George’s instructions seriously. Sandra was coping at the Windmill on her own, and Ella had stayed at home to protect the boy. She was sitting at the window waiting for them. But when they walked into the kitchen, she was nearly in tears.

“He’s gone,” she said. “You told me not to leave him on his own with anyone. I didn’t. I really didn’t. But they were getting on so well, and he seemed to be cheering up …”

“Ella,” George said. “Do calm down and tell us just what happened.”

“Just after you left they turned up.”

“Who turned up?”

“Tina, Rob and Peter. You said not to leave Adam alone with anyone. Well, there were three of them, so I thought that he would be safe. I hadn’t made the beds even, so I went upstairs. I was only gone for ten minutes. When I came down they’d all gone … He left a note.”

She held out a piece of paper to George. It was a near replica of that pinned to Peter’s door.

“Thanks for everything. I’ve gone to Perth with the others to see a black stork. Don’t worry.”

“Silly young fool,” George said quietly to himself. “Silly young fool.”

Ella was working herself into a state of hysteria. George tried to reassure her.

“Now don’t you worry, my dear. You couldn’t have stopped Adam going with the others even if you’d been here. They’ll be back as soon as they’ve seen the bird. He surely wouldn’t have gone with them if he hadn’t felt safe, although I must admit that I’m surprised.” He realized that he was being anything but reassuring and added briskly: “We must accept that he knows what he’s doing … I need to make an urgent phone call now, Ella. Can I use your telephone?”

He made a phone call to Jenny Kenning. The polite, curious voice of the receptionist replied immediately and there was only a short pause before he was put through to the probation officer.