And leaned around the corner.

Her eyes skimmed the nearest treeline just as another shot clicked into the stone near her face. She wrenched herself back, flat against the wall, breathing hard.

There had been no muzzle flash, no audible blast. No warning. But Hawkins had seen the silhouette, elbows raised, clearly holding a long-barrelled weapon of some kind. The same figure that had been watching them minutes earlier.

The same figure she had approached across open ground.

She swallowed her relief and leaned out again, this time knowing where to look, zeroing in on the spot the gunman had occupied.

He was gone.

‘Move.’ She stood, yanking Chris to his feet, and led him at a three-quarter run towards the car. The trainee didn’t speak, silently following her instructions.

Hawkins gritted her teeth as they passed the line of gravestones, alert for the clicking sounds of more muted projectiles, thankful now for the twilight. It was risky covering open ground like this, but if their assailant was heading for them, she didn’t want to risk getting trapped next to the tower.

They jogged back along the pathway, the unbroken foliage now on their left, providing at least visual protection on that side.

No more shots came.

It was almost fully dark when they reached the end of the pathway and emerged next to the stable block, both of them slowing now that the rush of adrenalin had begun to subside. But Hawkins felt her pulse kick again as they rounded the structure, holding Chris steady to minimize the noise of their approach, aware that the squat building provided perfect cover for a second ambush, this time from close range.

She eyed the Giulietta’s nose, just visible behind the hedgerow up ahead, senses pounding as she tried to marshal her thoughts. Instinct said they should get to the car and leave before one of them got seriously hurt, whereas the chief inspector in her said they should be calling SCO19 and arresting the perpetrator before he injured someone.

Hawkins freed her mobile from her coat, waking the screen. Then she grimaced and stuffed it back in her pocket, accepting that, realistically, armed back-up was at least half an hour away. Even if they called for help, there was no way of knowing what kind of further attack they might come under while they waited for support.

The long game it was.

‘Quiet,’ she hissed at Chris, leading him along the stable wall. They stopped at the far end, where Hawkins risked a quick glance around the corner, heart still pounding in her ears. She glimpsed the fence she had approached upon arrival; the same pony just inside, daylight’s embers revealing its mane and the curve of its back. But no ambush.