Julia was in her twenties, overweight, and wearing a long, patterned skirt, high boots, and a mustard-yellow fake-fur jacket. ‘What’s happening, Finn?’ she called to the man, as she headed towards him, her fair hair twisted into a long plait down her back. ‘I heard sirens.’

‘Two guests have gone missing,’ Finn called back.

Kate turned and eyed the guests once more. ‘I’ll need to speak to you all individually,’ she said. ‘Is there somewhere we could set up? We need to know more about Lark.’

Was she a happy teenager? Taking any medication? When did you last see her? How did she seem?

‘Oh God,’ Caroline said, turning to Robert, who wrapped his arms around her.

Two police cars appeared and pulled up next to Julia’s car.

‘Ah, good, uniform.’ Kate took a deep breath and addressed the gathered guests, ‘Even though the car’s gone, we can’t rule out that one of them could still be on site,’ she said. ‘I’ll organise an immediate search of the area.’

*

They were called into the conservatory one by one. They’d all seen Lark the night before at dinner, and Caroline told Kate that her daughter went straight to bed when they got back to their cottage.

Once the final guest had been questioned, Kate’s mind skittered over what they’d told her – breaking down the main points:

‘It was the man in the mask. I’ve seen him lots of times since I’ve been here. He took Lark.’ Elise Green

‘I’ve never really trusted Jackson. Not the kind of person I’d chum up with, if you know what I mean. He has a look about him, you know.’ Neil Green

‘Lark hasn’t been herself lately. She’s been taking Diazepam. It worries me. And she took off the day before when we were on the beach. She worried us all. I can’t believe Jackson would take her. But then why would she take off? She knows how ill I am.’ Caroline Taylor

‘She isn’t herself – that much is true. But I’ve never trusted him. I would catch him staring at my daughter. And then there was the night of the ghost walk. He led her off the path. She seemed upset.’ Robert Taylor

‘He’s a type, you know. Thought he could have any woman – or girl in this case – he wanted.’ Rosamund Green

‘I heard the scream first, about two in the morning. The squeaking was weird, but I can’t be sure it wasn’t a dream. It was later I heard the car roar away. Saw the tail-lights of Jackson’s car disappearing.’ Amelia Taylor

‘Such a pretty girl, but sullen – I put it down to her mother’s impending death – an awful thing for her to have to cope with.’ Ruth Kinnaird