Getting up, he went over to the window to check if the van was back. It wasn’t, and he couldn’t see anyone standing guard, so he cracked the window open and listened intently for sounds of movement or talking. When all he heard was wind and the evensong of birds, he leaned out a little further and looked down the lane. There was no sign of headlights in the distance, so he pushed the window all the way open. Clambering onto the ledge, he twisted his body round and dropped his legs down until he was hanging by his fingertips. It was a long way down to the gravel, and he squeezed his eyes shut and said a silent prayer before letting go.

He landed feet first, and gritted his teeth to prevent himself from crying out when an excruciating pain shot up his legs. Aware that he was on borrowed time, he hobbled over to the thick hedgerow that separated his garden from the lane. Ignoring the pain as the branches tore at his hands, he pushed his way into the hedge. Halfway through, he glanced back at the house. Nobody had appeared at the door or windows, so he pushed on through the hedge until he fell out onto the lane on the other side.

Driven on by pure adrenaline, Frank forced his aching legs to carry him into the field. There, he paused and looked around, trying to decide which route would be best to take. If he went forward through the field he’d have two miles to walk and a wide stream to cross before he reached Thornley’s dairy farm. To the right, he’d be faced with trying to navigate his way around the disused quarry – and that was a treacherous enough job in daylight, never mind in darkness. To the left, he’d be able to get to Yvonne’s place and use her phone to call for help before finding somewhere to hide.

The latter option would undoubtedly be quickest, but he would have to crawl through the field to get there, because he’d be spotted in an instant if those in the house discovered that he’d gone and came out to look for him. And it was also the first place they would come looking for him when they realized he’d gone.

Just as he’d decided it would be safest to go forward and head for Thornley’s farm, Frank picked up the distinctive rumble of a diesel engine in the near distance, and when he looked round, he saw two faint orbs of lights coming over the rise some three hundred yards past Yvonne’s place. Aware that it was the Transit when he picked up the repetitive bass beat of the awful music he’d heard playing when Karel and Nick had driven away from the house earlier, Frank threw himself down to the ground and slithered into a shallow trench.