Annie took the torch from the sideboard and headed out of the café and down into the cellar. The fuse box was on the wall, halfway down the cellar stairs. She opened the box and shone the torch in. Sure enough, the circuit breaker had tripped. Annie carefully checked all the switches for obvious problems. Everything seemed to be in order, so she flicked the trip switch back to the on position and the light in the hallway came back on; the gratified sounds coming from the café told her that the electricity was back on in there too. She snapped the fuse box shut and turned to leave when a faint thudding noise distracted her. She stood still and listened. There it was again.

Annie made her way gingerly down the cellar stairs. The thudding continued. The closer she got to the bottom of stairs, the more prominent the sound became.

“Are you all right down there?”

Annie jumped and pelted down the last three steps, then looked up to see Maeve draped in a tartan blanket, standing at the top of the stairs.

“Shit, Maeve! You scared the crap out of me!”

“Sorry, old girl. Was just making sure you were all right.”

“There’s something moving down here.”

“A rat?”

“That’s what I wondered.”

The thudding came again.

“Did you hear that?” Annie called up the stairs.

“Not really.”

“I’m going to have a look around.”

“Got a weapon with you? If it’s a rat you might need to give it a wallop.”

Annie grimaced.

Another thud, just one. Annie moved to the middle of the room and waited. Thud, thud, thud. It was coming from a pile of sandbags. Cautiously Annie walked toward the pile and, one by one, began to heave them down onto the cellar floor. Thud. Thud. It can’t be, Annie thought, surely not. But already hope was blooming in her chest. She went to the wall and thumped it hard, which was answered by three quick thuds and a muffled shout.

“Oh my God, it is! Oh my God! Maeve, get help! I need something heavy, something to bring a wall down!”

She banged on the wall. “Hold on!” she yelled. “I’m coming! John, is that you?” Annie began tearing at the sandbag wall, kicking and rolling them away from her to make a space.

“Maeve said you need help?” came Mark’s concerned voice down the stairs.

“We need to take this wall down. There’s people behind it!”

“I’m sorry? You need to what?” Mark was coming down the stairs. “Have you hurt yourself? Did you bang your head?”

Annie growled in exasperation. “Here, come here!”

Mark did as he was told, stepping over the discarded sandbags.

“Behind this wall is an old smugglers’ tunnel that leads out to the sea. Listen!” She pounded on the wall with both fists and shouted, “John!”