Her hands were cuffed in front of her and she looked exhausted. She took a few steps towards her – she was limping horribly – then collapsed to the ground.

That wasn’t what most stood out, however.

What most stood out was the blood smeared across her face.

She looked at PC Chalmers and sank to her knees. Chalmers ran over to her and knelt on the wet grass at her side.

‘Are you Annabelle Westbrook?’ she said, although she was pretty sure she already knew the answer to that question.

The woman nodded.

‘It’s OK,’ she said. ‘You’re safe now.’ She glanced up; Toby had seen what was happening and was running towards them.

‘Thank you,’ Annabelle Westbrook said. She was glassy-eyed and her breath was short. ‘I can’t believe it’s over.’

‘It is,’ Chalmers said. ‘It’s all over. But I have to ask. Where is he?’

Annabelle pointed to the place on the cliff she had come from. ‘He’s over there,’ she said.

3

Annabelle Westbrook was in shock; that much was obvious. PC Chalmers put her in the recovery position, and spoke into her radio.

‘We have Ms Westbrook,’ she said. ‘She’s safe. Request ambulance and back-up. Whereabouts of Guy Sanderson unknown.’

Toby arrived and knelt next to them. ‘How is she?’

‘Fine. She’s in shock, but the blood doesn’t seem to be hers – at least, I don’t see any obvious injuries.’ Chalmers put her hand on Annabelle’s neck to feel her pulse. ‘How are you?’ she said. ‘Are you hurt?’

‘No,’ Annabelle said. ‘I’m tired. Do you have a phone?’

‘Of course,’ Chalmers said. ‘Do you need to make a call?’

‘I want to speak to my family.’

‘What’s the number?’ Chalmers said.

Annabelle told her and she typed it into the keypad.

She put the phone on speaker and lay it on the grass next to Annabelle’s head. Then she stood up.

‘You hang back,’ she said. ‘Keep an eye on her. I’m going to find him.’

4

There had obviously been a fight. Blood streaked the chalky ground.

But there was no sign of Sanderson.

‘Shit,’ Chalmers muttered. She spoke into her radio. ‘Need an alert on Sanderson. He’s not here.’

She walked towards the edge of the cliff, studying the scene. There really was a lot of blood.

So much that no one could have gone anywhere without leaving an obvious trail.

But there was no trail.

Just the blood.

‘Holy mother,’ Chalmers said, and walked briskly to the edge of the cliff. She looked down and her head swam with vertigo.

It was a long way down.

A long way to fall. And someone had fallen.

She blinked the dizziness away and looked again, then spoke into her radio.

‘I found him,’ she said. ‘I found Sanderson.’

Annabelle