What would happen next? Adam wondered as he alternately watched her and the figures busy at the accident scene.

The sergeant who’d now arrived to join the two officers and take charge of the site looked dubious when Stacy presented him with a sketch of the lad they’d seen running through town just after the incident.

‘I don’t mean to insult you, but how do we know your sketch is accurate?’ he asked.

She glared at him. ‘I’ll do one of you as a test. See how accurate you think that one is.’

A few minutes later she marched across to him and thrust a piece of paper at him. ‘There.’

As he stared down at it, the officer beside him craned her neck to have a look and grinned. ‘It’s you to the life, Sarge. Not very flattering, though.’

‘How about this one?’ Stacy again produced the sketch she’d made of the youth who’d been running through town.

‘Raff Smales,’ the woman said at once. ‘It’s a good likeness too.’

‘Do you know where he lives?’

She rolled her eyes. ‘Officers have been to his home to question him or bring him in a dozen times at least. You’ve only just been transferred to Sexton Bassett, Sarge, but believe me, you’ll soon get to know that one.’

‘Why is he running loose if he’s such a slippery customer?’

‘Because the magistrate’s a softie and Raff’s been under age. But he turned eighteen a couple of months ago and he’s been a bit more careful of what he does since then in case they send him to an adult prison.’

‘Well, go and see if you can pick him up. We need to find out what he was doing out in the middle of the night.’ He turned back to Stacy. ‘Sorry for doubting your skill, ma’am, but we have to be careful.’

When the firefighters had cleared up the petrol spill they dragged the truck out of the hole. As soon as it was clear, one of them yelled, ‘Hey, come and look at this!’

‘I’m not being kept out of it,’ Angus muttered and introduced himself to the sergeant, who let him join the group staring down the hole. It was over two metres deep at least, but it wasn’t just a hole. There seemed to be a passage leading sideways from where the weight of the truck had breached the tunnel that lay beneath the ground. The tunnel was partly blocked by fallen bricks but clearly went back a long way.

The sergeant turned to him. ‘I presume there were cellars under your houses, sir?’

‘No. None that I know of, anyway, and I’ve looked round all of them many times.’

‘Then why is there a tunnel here?’

‘I can guess.’ He paused to work out what to say.

‘And?’ prompted the sergeant.

‘I’ve been asked by the heritage people to keep quiet about certain matters. Perhaps I could have a private word?’

The two men walked aside and Angus explained about the heritage people wanting him to keep quiet about the small communications centre, because they were afraid of people damaging one of the most perfect examples of such centres they’d ever seen. ‘They’re going to be very excited about the tunnel, too, I’m sure. Even they didn’t spot its entrance.’