‘Ryan, I’m adding you to the search party, with Paige and Sasha here.’ Singh pulled a map out of his pocket and handed it over, indicating which part of the estate hadn’t been covered yet. ‘If in doubt, follow your own footprints back here again.’

The uniformed officer nodded and set off away from the cabin, taking us further from the hall and deeper into the woods. Before we turned a corner and lost sight of the cabin I looked back; someone was watching us from the window, but I couldn’t see who it was.

It’s getting darker, I pointed out to Sasha. I think it’s going to snow again.

She shook her head. I told them we shouldn’t have come, with this forecast. But Steve was determined not to cancel. A bit of snow will make it all the more exciting, he said. She rolled her eyes. This is more than just a bit of snow, but he wouldn’t listen, and he’s the head so has the final decision.

Why did you come with them? I asked.

They needed a woman, she replied with a wry smile. None of the female staff could come this weekend, or so they said, so Steve asked me.

PC Ryan was walking slightly ahead of us and glanced back at us occasionally, but as he couldn’t follow the conversation he carried on trudging through the snow in silence. Sasha and I stopped signing for some time, as we looked around us, searching for any sign of Leon or Steve as we went. The trees along the side of the path were thinning out, and the expanse of virgin snow ahead of us was widening.

‘We’ll go as far as that stand of trees, there,’ PC Ryan told me, ‘then loop back around. According to the map we’re getting closer to where the southern end of the estate meets the road, so we’ll go that way to check for potential entrances or exits.’

I signed this for Sasha and she nodded. How do we know he’s even in the park?

‘We don’t,’ the PC replied with a shrug. ‘But we still have to look.’

As we walked, I wondered why this particular part of the park was so open. The area in front of us was completely clear of trees, and it was an almost perfect square. It was only when I spotted a low, snow-covered building on the far side that I realised where we were.

‘Is this the cricket club?’ I asked Ryan, and he frowned, pulling out the map.

‘Er, yes. Yes, it must be,’ he said, his tone of voice not filling me with confidence. I hoped we were going to be able to find our way back to the cabin.

‘In which case, we’re closer to the road than you thought,’ I pointed out, but he didn’t say anything.