‘Just tell me what you want me to do. You know the terrain better than I do. Oh, and if you think we’d better arm ourselves, there are some car tools in the boot. A spanner would be better than nothing, don’t you think?’ Adam suggested.

‘Good idea.’ They armed themselves and turned to stare at the houses.

‘It looks so quiet,’ Nell said.

‘We’ll not take any risks, though. We’ll check things out before we make ourselves known. Nell, let me go first,’ Angus said. ‘You can be our back-up, if needed.’

‘You can go first, but I’m not going to be left out.’ She turned to Adam. ‘I’ve done a self-defence course and I know how to look after myself.’

Angus studied the houses carefully before he began to move. No sign of any intruder, yet someone had broken the external circuit at the perimeter wall, which meant they’d climbed over the wall because the plumbers had put a temporary wire mesh fence across the end garden to keep their equipment safe and that would have sounded a different alarm.

He couldn’t see why any of the locals living nearby would come in over the wall and the two residents had been warned how dangerous the wall itself might be. It was about two metres high and gave a visual protection to the small street but it would be easy enough to climb over, hence the electrical circuit now running along it, which would only be turned on after dark.

He moved quietly along the street, knowing the warning had come from the section behind Numbers 2 and 3.

As he glanced ahead he saw that the front door of Number 3 was open and Elise was alternately beckoning to them and putting one finger to her lips to show that they should be quiet. She must have seen something, then.

They hurried to join her.

‘A few minutes ago I heard Stacy scream and yell for help a couple of times and then there was silence. I didn’t dare knock on her door, because I’m not strong enough to help anyone physically, and if someone hurt me, I could be crippled for life after that hip replacement.’

‘It was wise of you to keep out of things.’

‘I didn’t completely keep out. I tiptoed along the back and peeped into the house. I saw a man shove Stacy into the kitchen area. She seemed dizzy, so perhaps he’d hit her. He’s got her tied to a chair now. I didn’t recognise him, but he seemed to be taunting her. I know she’s got an abusive ex-husband she’s hiding from, so I called the police.’

‘How long ago was that?’

‘Only a few minutes but unfortunately they couldn’t tell me when they’d get here because it’s been a busy night for 999 calls. I was just going to phone you directly, Angus, when you turned up. Did that alarm system of yours go off?’

Angus nodded and turned to Adam. ‘Are you game to go in with me and tackle whoever it is?’