Annie repeated herself in a tone that demanded a response. “Okay?”

John looked at her and nodded infinitesimally. Annie nodded back.

Annie was first to her feet. Her heart was beating hard in her chest, adrenaline making her feel sick. She had a terrible feeling that Maeve was right; where else would Alfred go? The tide had been coming in fast when she’d been securing the shutters, and the storm made the swell far greater than normal.

“Right!” she said. “Coats on. Mari’s got torches in the cellar. We’ll sweep the beach as far as we can.”

She ran behind the counter and quickly swapped her ankle boots for the pair of wellingtons she kept there.

“What if a couple of us turn our cars around to face the beach and put our full beams on?” Sally suggested.

“Good idea,” said Maeve. “John and I both have 4×4s, so their beams should be high enough to reach over the prom. And yours is best placed of all, being parked right on the prom itself.” She nodded at Sally. “John, have you asked at the pubs yet?”

John shook his head. “No, I came straight here.”

“Okay, lad. In that case, Sally, would you mind driving up to the pubs and asking if anyone’s seen Alfred? Not too much of a pain to get in and out with the chair, is it?”

“Not at all,” said Sally as Gemma handed her her coat. “Leave it with me. I’ll message if I get any information.”

Annie fetched the torches, and the search party set out into the night. Maeve and John moved their cars farther back along the shingle path, to where the ground level was slightly elevated, bringing their headlamps level with the bottom of the promenade. The white beams lit the storm. The rain was coming down in slanted sheets. The sea was a swollen, foaming mass, waves built on waves as far back as it was possible to see, the front runners crashing relentlessly against the shore. The tide was too high and too ferocious for any hope of making it round to the entrance of the cave.

“Maeve,” Annie shouted. “You and Gemma take that end of the promenade.” She pointed beyond Saltwater Nook, where the prom ended and the rocks climbed up the cliff. “See if he’s taken shelter anywhere among the rocks. We’ll take the beach. He could be holed up beneath the curve of the promenade.”

“Right ho!” shouted Maeve. “Everyone got their phones?”

The others gave the thumbs-up.

“Any sign of rock falls, get the hell away fast!” yelled John.

“Roger that!” Maeve called back as she and Gemma began a slow determined trudge toward the bottom of the cliff.

John jumped down onto the stones, and Annie took his hand and followed. It was harder to see down on the beach. They flicked on their torches and began to shine them around.