He watched from the window as the hedges and trees went past. He felt alert with adrenaline; it wasn’t often he and Julie did something like this, and a number of unfamiliar thoughts ran through his mind: what if he’s armed? What if he’s killed her? What kind of trouble are we going to be in for not going in and looking around earlier?

Because he realized now that was what they should have done. He could picture the conversation he’d be having with his boss later.

The fucking teenager told you he’d seen an SOS call, and you didn’t go in?

The home owner was so convincing. And it was a teenager.

Shit. They’d probably both be fired.

He felt the car brake to a stop.

‘Right,’ Julie said. ‘We’re here.’

2

PC Gibb ran around the back of the house. There was a vast bay window and he peered inside. It was a dining room, with a long table. There was a candle in the middle of it; other than that, it was empty.

He continued onto a terrace. There was a gas barbecue next to a set of French doors. He tried them; they were locked, but he could see into a modern kitchen. It, too, was more or less empty.

He stepped back and looked up. There were four sets of windows, two with the curtains closed, one with the curtains drawn and the other with a set of blinds. He looked over his shoulder at the lake. This was the window she had signalled from. He was sure of it.

He ran back to the front of the house. PC Berry was standing by the front door, her finger on the bell.

‘No answer,’ she said.

He turned the handle and shook the door. ‘We have to go in.’

‘We have no warrant.’

‘We have reason to believe someone is being held captive in there.’ He caught her eye. ‘And we should have gone in earlier. I don’t want to make that mistake again.’

‘OK,’ she said. ‘Let’s do it.’

He kicked the door with his heel, right where the lock was. It held, and he kicked it again. There was a sound of cracking wood, but the door remained shut.

‘Let me try,’ Julie said, and kicked the door.

It flew open.

‘Don’t worry,’ she said. ‘You loosened it.’

They walked into a large hall, a set of stairs directly in front of them.

‘I’ll go up,’ PC Gibb said. ‘You look down here.’

He ran up the stairs, two at a time. If she was here they needed to get to her as quickly as they could. Their presence here earlier would have alerted Sanderson to the fact they were close to him, and who knew how he might have reacted?