‘Lark has an attitude, a stroppy teenager. But she has a lot on her plate with her mum dying.’ Finn Kinnaird

‘No, I never met either of them. I was in the farmhouse, working on my graphic novel.’ Julia Collis

‘I can’t believe my sister would go off with Jackson voluntarily.’ Thomas Taylor

‘He’s an extremely good-looking man. I wouldn’t be surprised if he tempted her away.’ Maddie Jenkins

*

It was mid-afternoon when Kate and Gavin were called into the forest. There were five in all – hanging from trees closest to the site – masks depicting the face of a young boy, swaying hauntingly in the light breeze.

Kate swallowed. ‘Christ. Who the fuck put these up?’

‘There’s blood on the bark of a tree, ma’am,’ said a young constable. ‘And wheel marks in soil nearby.’

But there was no sign of Lark or Jackson.

Later, Kate gathered everyone back in the conservatory.

‘You can leave Drummondale House,’ she said, dragging her fingers through her short hair. ‘But don’t leave the country. We may need to talk to some of you again, so leave contact details.’

‘Get the cases, Neil,’ Rosamund said, jumping up. ‘We need to get away from here, for Elise’s sake.’

The girl looked up from her Kindle. And within seconds she was on her feet and following Rosamund through the door.

‘Sorry,’ Neil said to the room, rising too. He leaned in, and kissed Caroline’s cheek. ‘Keep in touch, won’t you? And if there’s anything we can do, just shout. I hope to God you find them soon.’

Once the Green family had left, Kate drifted outside to take a call from traffic police.

‘Jackson’s car has appeared twice on CCTV,’ the officer told her. ‘Once on the A9 at Aviemore, and later on the M90 heading south, and there’s something else.’

‘Go on.’

‘There was nobody in the passenger seat.’ A beat. ‘And the driver had shoulder-length brown hair and was wearing a mask.’

*

‘We’ll do a wider search at first light,’ Kate said; now back in the conservatory, beating down thoughts that the lass may already be dead. She took a deep breath. ‘We’ll grab the locals to help, and get the dogs up here, plus coastal rescue.’

‘I’d like to stay and help,’ Amelia said.

‘Me too,’ Robert said with a sad nod. It was clear the man had been crying.

‘Good.’ Kate rose, and doing her best to sound positive, she added, ‘We’ll do everything in our power to find her.’

Chapter 41

A Year Ago

Amelia

The blood on the bark of the tree was human, but untraceable. The masks had no fingerprints. Neither Ruth’s trolley nor Thomas’s wheelchair had matched the wheel imprints. The wider search had revealed nothing either, and a TV appeal several days later only attracted a few dead ends. Things weren’t looking hopeful.