Sara took the phone, gave Hailey a grateful hug and hurried down the hill. It was only a twenty-minute walk back to her house, where she’d left the car, and as she walked, a plan formed in her mind. She’d go and get the girls and then phone Matt. If he wouldn’t talk to her, she’d get Sophia to speak to him. Between them they could sort this out and get Ezra back home. As a last resort, she told herself, the police would be able to find him.

But as she hurried down the road towards the house, she realised none of that would be necessary. Matt’s car was parked outside.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

She started to run, adrenaline pumping through her veins, unsure what Matt was going to be like with her, but desperate to hold her son. He’ll be furious I changed the locks and he can’t get in. She slowed as she neared the car, expecting Matt to jump out and start shouting at her, but the vehicle was empty. With her heart racing, she checked the back garden, but there was no sign of Matt or Ezra.

Bloody hell! Where are you?

She pulled Hailey’s phone from her pocket and dialled his number. It rang and rang, but no answer. She tried again. And again. Eventually, she left a voicemail.

‘Matt, look, this has all got out of hand. We need to talk. Hailey called the police. Fiona’s been arrested and I promised her I wouldn’t tell the police anything in return for her silence about the money from the community centre. We’ve got to get our story straight. For the sake of the kids.’

It was a dangerous game she was playing – the lies mounting up – but she hoped he couldn’t tell that her message was the opposite of the truth. She had a clear goal in sight: to put right the wrongs that had been done and get life back to normal without anyone she cared about getting hurt. Hailey would look after the children if Sara ended up in prison. Yes, it would bring humiliation to the family, but that was a price she was willing to pay. It would pass. Things would be forgotten. She could move to Skipton; not far away but another world in terms of the reach of local gossip. Her mind whirred through the consequences, none of them great, but it was a matter of damage limitation.

When she turned towards the house after leaving her message, she noticed broken glass, the kitchen window propped open. Matt. Is he still here? Quickly she unlocked the back door and ran inside.

Ezra was screaming upstairs. She crept through the hall until she could hear Matt’s raised voice. ‘We’re just going on a little holiday. You do not need every single bloody cuddly toy.’