She grabbed the handle. It was unlocked; she stepped through into a kitchen. On the counter was a phone. It was a flip phone, modern, sleek and grey. She’d not seen many of those before. Still, she knew how to use one. She grabbed it. As soon as she was away from the man she’d call the police.

The man. She realized it was quiet behind her. She looked back. The door to the garage was open and she could see the stairs that led to the room. The wooden cover was still off.

Where was the man? Was he still in the room? Was he hurting Max? Or was he hiding in the garage?

She took a step towards the door. Slowly, she pushed it wide open.

The garage was empty.

Which meant the man was with Max. He was waiting down there. She opened the flip phone and dialled 999. Once she had done that and the police were on the way she could go back down and protect him. She would be able to do that for long enough to free them.

The phone rang once, twice.

‘Which service? Police, Ambulance, or Fire?’

‘Police.’

She waited for someone to answer.

There was a loud bang. Maggie turned to her left; the man was standing in the back door, his face contorted in anger. He was holding a shovel in his hand.

And she realized her mistake.

There was another door in the garage that led out to the garden. He’d gone through that and got the shovel. There was no sign of Max.

‘You stupid little bitch,’ he said, spitting out each word. ‘Why did you have to do this?’ He stalked to his right, blocking Maggie’s path out of the kitchen. He lifted the shovel, the blade level with his ruined face.

There was a voice from the phone. It was brisk and official. ‘Hello. What can I help you with?’

The man charged towards her. Maggie held the phone to her ear.

‘Maggie Cooper,’ she said. ‘Maggie—’

And then the shovel hit her hand and the phone flew to the floor. The man picked it up and closed it. He raised the shovel again.

‘You stupid, stupid little girl,’ he said.

DI Wynne

DI Wynne sat at her desk. Her first Saturday back at her old job and she was in the office. DS Chan was at the next desk.

‘So,’ he said. ‘It didn’t work out down south?’

‘Not exactly,’ she said. ‘So here I am.’

‘What happened?’

Wynne pursed her lips. ‘This and that.’

‘Sounds pretty serious.’

‘Look,’ Wynne said. ‘It wasn’t for me. That’s all.’

There was a knock on the door. A uniformed officer came in.

‘Hey,’ she said. ‘You worked the case of that missing girl, right?’

‘Which one?’

‘Maggie Cooper.’

Wynne sat up in her chair. ‘Yes. What about it?’