I couldn’t bear the sight of the thing flapping away like a flag, the thought that it might be there for years, a horrible intrusion in an otherwise unspoilt wilderness. I had to remove it. I left my bag and jacket where they lay and threaded my way through the gorse to the cairn of rocks. I could see where the sheep had made a path before me, leaving tiny clouds of wool hanging on the tips of the thorns.

Reaching the foot of the tree involved some awkward clambering, treading carefully, searching for footholds among the knotted, witch-like fingers of its roots. It was a few minutes before I managed to scramble to the top. Moss grew thick on the northern side of the trunk, a sign of clean air. I breathed in deeply and then turned around to get another look at the view: then dropped down behind the tree, crouching as low as I could behind the rocks, my heart thumping with shock.

Vlad and Igor were walking across the grass towards me. They must have spotted the van parked by the side of the road. They could scarcely miss it. I always park across the lane from Nick’s shop and they’d probably seen it there. It wouldn’t take a brain surgeon to work out who it belonged to.

I risked a look over the rocks in front of me. Right now they were going through the pockets of my jacket, and laughing. I saw my bunch of keys tossed in a glittering arc into the bracken. Igor began rooting through my bag. He found my phone and passed it to Vlad, who stood scrolling through, looking for something: the photograph I had taken of him. He gave a bark of laughter and showed something to Igor. He must have found it. I didn’t need to see his thumb working to know he was pressing delete, before he flung the phone into the bracken along with my keys.

Meanwhile, Igor was happily chucking things out of my bag. He found my silent dog whistle and blew it several times, shrugged when it made no noise, and tossed it over his shoulder. A tampon went flying, then my diary; then he found my purse, opened it and emptied out the change.

I dodged back behind the rock, out of sight. Perhaps now Vlad had got what he wanted and erased the photograph, they might both drive off and leave me alone.

‘Juuunoooo.’ It was Vlad calling, his voice mocking. ‘Where are you hiding, girlfriend?’

He and Igor weren’t going to go away. They were coming to find me.