The incline that was currently threatening to give him a heart attack was near the foot of what was known locally as ‘Cow Hill.’ Tyler knew the name, but had no idea of the reasoning behind it. Presumably, cattle had been involved at some point, and he had a nagging concern that he might run straight into one of the bastards with the big horns at any moment.

Fortunately, this worry was quickly replaced by a more pressing one, when he caught sight of Pete Hill hobbling through the woodland up ahead, the bag over his shoulder, the knife clutched in his hand.

It was, Tyler realised for the second time in as many minutes, quite a big knife. And, judging by the Post Mortem results he had skimmed through, the attacker had been very accomplished at using it.

He should stop chasing him.

This was too risky.

This was madness.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, Tyler thought.

And he ran on up the hill, hot on the heels of a killer.

* * *

The taxi was abandoned when they arrived, the passenger door open, the engine compartment well and truly drowned.

Polis vehicles lined the road where the car had gone off, their flashing lights skimming like stones on the surface of the river below.

“Where is he?” Sinead demanded, elbowing through the throng of Uniforms. “Tyler. The people in the car. Where are they?”

“We’re not sure yet,” a sergeant replied. He indicated the river with a tilt of his head. “No sign of any bodies, but the current could have carried them downstream. We’ll need to get a diver in.”

Sinead’s hand shook all the way to her mouth. “A diver? You don’t need… He’s not in there! He’s not, he isn’t!”

“I’m not saying he is,” the sergeant said. He was an older man, but new enough to the area that Sinead didn’t know his name. “But the passenger door could have been thrown open on impact, so we can’t rule it out.”

Ben, who had been picking his way down the slope behind Sinead, indicated that the other man should stop talking. “Do what you have to do, Sergeant,” he instructed. “Keep us posted.”

“Will do, sir,” the uniformed officer replied. “Anything turns up, I’ll report right away.”

“You’re not just searching the river, though, are you?” Sinead demanded. “I mean… they could be anywhere. Further up the glen. Over in Claggan. They might have headed back towards the town. Are we even checking that?”

The sergeant looked from her to Ben, then back again. His smile was kind, but patronising. “I’ll see what we can do.”

Sinead threw her arms in the air as the sergeant made his way back up the slope. “He’ll see what they can do? What’s that supposed to mean? He should be searching already. We need to look for them. Now.”