She hesitated a moment, the hairs standing up on the back of her neck. This didn’t feel right, not good at all. How was she going to find her way up there in the dark? And why the quarry?

She wound down the window, a damp mist now billowing around outside, making visibility almost zero. Sod this for a game of soldiers, she said to herself as she glanced around the car park. Even with the torch from her phone, all she could see was a wall of white as the mist enveloped the car.

Muffled shouts in the distance made her heart jump up her throat. What was that? She held her breath, body rigid, listening. Another shout.

This is a stupid idea. She wondered if the messages were some sort of practical joke. Or something more sinister? A shiver ran through her body. She wound up the window and rang James, determined to do things on her terms, not his. We can talk in my car, she decided. I’m not going out there.

His phone rang and rang, but there was no answer. She sent a message and waited, but nothing came back. After ten minutes, she started the car and drove to Hailey’s house, confused and angry that he’d dragged her out on a wild goose chase.

‘I’ve no idea what that was all about,’ she said to Hailey when she got back, teeth chattering with cold. ‘There was nobody there. The mist was down, couldn’t see a bloody thing. I thought I heard something, but sound travels up there when it’s still, doesn’t it? Really misleading. It could just as easily have been people at the pub.’

‘Well, I’m glad you’re back,’ Hailey said, giving her a hug before releasing her and going into big-sister mode. ‘You shouldn’t have gone off like that on your own. We said we’d do this together, didn’t we?’

Sara gave an apologetic smile and tried to ring James again. Still no answer. What on earth was he playing at?

Chapter Thirty-Two

Hailey woke her the next morning, gently shaking her shoulder.

‘You’re going to want to see this,’ she whispered.

Sara slid out of bed, trying not to disturb Ezra, wondering what had happened.

‘It’s not the girls, is it?’

Hailey shook her head and beckoned for her to follow her out into the hall. She was still in her pyjamas, hair mussed up. She showed Sara her phone, a news report: Local man found unconscious in Ilkley Quarry.

Sara’s gut wrenched as she read the article. It was James. She blinked a few times, trying to clear the sleep from her eyes, wondering if she’d read it right, and scanned the brief report again. Found by dog walkers. He had head injuries and had been kept in hospital for observation. Police were keeping an open mind and were asking for witnesses.