‘I’m always hopeful,’ says Mr Marshall. ‘But the weeks roll by and it looks less likely she’ll improve. There’s only so many times I can be told “Don’t get your hopes up” but I do. I read something into everything. Did she smile? Try to sit up?’ He lowers his voice. ‘I blame myself; if the trip had been better supervised…’

‘We’d still have found a way to get out. We wanted to.’

‘And that,’ Mr Marshall says, ‘sums everything up really. Hailey wouldn’t have been forced into doing something she didn’t want to. Were you stupid? Yes. Irresponsible? Yes. Did you make her agree to that preposterous dare? No.’

For the first time in months, a smidgen of weight lifts from Connor’s shoulders.

‘We all have things we are guilty of,’ Mr Marshall says. ‘How’s your head? I… I apologize for being so rough with you.’

‘I’m glad you brought me here,’ Connor says, truthfully. ‘I’m glad I’ve told what happened that night.’

‘Me too and, if anything,’ Mr Marshall says, ‘it sounds as though you tried to stop her.’

‘Yeah but… I didn’t try hard enough.’

‘That daughter of mine is strong-willed.’ He clears the emotion from his throat. ‘She was pleased to see you today. I could tell.’ He looks expectantly at Connor.

‘I will come back,’ he says.

Before Mr Marshall can answer, the doorbell rings.

Connor leans back in his chair. Listens as Mr Marshall traipses down the hallway, creaks open the front door. He hears the low murmur of voices. The close of the door. Voices growing louder, he recognizes one of the speakers as PC Amin who had interviewed him after Ryan went missing.

‘This is the door to the basement?’ He hears the policeman say. ‘Last time you said it was being damp-proofed and we couldn’t look down there. We’d like to look now, Mr Marshall.’

‘It’s still—’

‘We could come back with a warrant.’

‘On what grounds? I don’t—’

‘Could you open the door please?’

A ripple of heat shuddered through Connor.

What has Mr Marshall done?

Chapter Sixty-Four

Ryan

Footsteps. Ryan hears footsteps.

Please save me. Please save me. Please save me.

Chapter Sixty-Five

Connor

Connor grasps the edge of the table waiting for a ‘We’ve found the boys!’ cry to drift up from the basement. But it doesn’t.

Instead, after a period of silence, voices approach the kitchen.

‘Thanks for letting us have another look around, Mr Marshall,’ says a woman. ‘Sorry your basement is in such a state.’

‘That’s what you get with older properties,’ Mr Marshall replies. ‘Least of my worries, really.’

‘Of course. PC Amin won’t take too long looking upstairs. I’m sorry but with Ryan still—’

‘Don’t apologize. Look, here’s Connor. Safe and sound.’

Connor loosens his fingers.