When six o’clock came and Bill still hadn’t turned up, she called him on his mobile. It went to voicemail so she left a message. By six-thirty, they were both becoming concerned.

Annie called The King’s Head and asked to be put through to his room. The landlady, Martha Grooms, said he had left the pub earlier after telling her he was spending the evening with an old pal in the nearby village of Ravenstonedale. Annie asked her to check if his car was still parked out back and she was told that it wasn’t.

By seven o’clock they accepted that he wouldn’t be coming and started on the dinner, though with a marked lack of enthusiasm.

‘I’m really worried,’ Annie said. ‘What if something’s happened to him? I just don’t believe he simply forgot about it.’

James shrugged. ‘Maybe he’s getting up to no good somewhere. You said yourself he was acting weird.’

As the evening wore on, Annie became increasingly concerned. She tried and failed to reach her uncle by phone several more times. Just before she and James went to bed at 11 p.m. she put in another call to The King’s Head and spoke to Martha again.

‘He still hasn’t arrived back,’ the woman said. ‘But he has a key so he’ll just let himself in through the accommodation entrance after we close the bar and restaurant.’

Annie eventually went to bed but struggled to sleep. She kept wondering where her Uncle Bill was and also why so many disturbing things were happening all at once in the village.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

It’s almost midnight and most of the village is sleeping. But not me. I’m doing what I usually do at this time – walking the dog before sloping off to bed.

I’m a creature of habit, which is one of my many faults. But the truth is I enjoy this time alone with my precious Yorkie, Daisy. She doesn’t judge me, or find fault with everything I do. She’s loyal and loving and she never lets me down. Unlike some of the people in my life.

I take the same route as always, along the narrow pavement to the store that sells hiking and fishing equipment, then left over the little footbridge that crosses the stream.

The snow has been falling all evening and I’m sure the fells will be covered for the festive period. That’s good news for those who won’t need to get around. But in heavy snow the countryside can be treacherous, the roads impassable, and villages and towns are often completely cut off from the outside world.

I can hear the wind whimpering in the trees on the fellside, but there’s not much to see because the landscape has been consumed by the darkness.

I draw on my ciggy and expel a stream of smoke. Then I let Daisy off the lead. She runs around excitedly before crouching down and emptying her bowels.

It’s been a bad day but at last I’m feeling relaxed. Behind me silence has closed over the village like a shroud, and lights twinkle in some of the windows.