Her hands covered her mouth as she looked at Hailey. ‘Oh my God! I heard a shout when I was there last night. I wonder if that was him.’

‘Problem is, it messes up our plan to get things sorted out while the girls are away.’ Hailey tapped her chin with her phone, lost in thought. ‘Mind you, if he’s in hospital…’ She gave Sara a slow smile. ‘Well, they encourage visitors. Nobody will think it odd if you go and see him, will they?’

Sara thought for a moment. ‘I suppose his dad might be there, but he’s only just out of hospital himself, and he’s still not well, so I doubt he’ll be visiting. Anyway, he’s got the business to run. It’ll all be on him again if James is in hospital.’

‘I’ll wait outside while you go in,’ Hailey said. She gave a satisfied smile. ‘There’ll be no running away, and if he’s in a weakened state, we might just have a chance of getting something close to the truth.’

A little hand landed on Sara’s leg, making her jump, and she turned to see Ezra, sleepy-eyed, behind her. She glanced at Hailey, who understood they should save the rest of the conversation for later, when Ezra was on his play date with the girl next door and they could talk openly.

Hailey had taken the day off, and once Ezra was happily playing with Holly, the sisters got ready for their first mission of the day – talk to Matt. Visiting hours at the hospital weren’t until after twelve, so James would have to wait. Sara had rung the hospital and found out which ward he was in. Apparently he had concussion and a broken wrist but was comfortable and could have visitors.

She was still bothered about his accident, unsure why he would have chosen to meet up at the quarry when he hadn’t been worried about them being seen together previously. And he’d had something to tell her. She had a horrible feeling that maybe it hadn’t been an accident at all. She’d heard shouting, hadn’t she? Had someone attacked him? She told herself not to get carried away. She’d find out this afternoon, and in the meantime, she needed to focus on Matt.

Hailey was being slow to get ready and Sara was desperate to see her girls, even if only from a distance, so she told her sister she’d go on ahead and wait for her at the house.