‘Bollocks,’ Noah said, and took off after him.

Hannah followed him outside, the shock of the storm instant. It wasn’t raining but the air was like ice, the wind so strong that it caught her off balance. She tugged her hair back from her face, securing it as best she could as Noah turned right and jogged down the side of the building, into the gardens. Hannah kept close, relieved that Spirit hadn’t gone towards the road, but not convinced he was out of danger.

‘Where’s he going?’ she shouted, raising her voice above the wind.

‘No idea,’ Noah called back.

‘Spirit!’ she shouted. ‘Spirit, come back!’ The dog turned to look at them, and for a moment she thought he was going to behave, but then he trotted forwards again, weaving between bushes and shrubs that had been flattened by the powerful weather.

Hannah kept up with Noah, her teeth chattering and her fingers numbing, following the white streak as he ran further into the gardens.

‘Spirit, come on!’ Noah shouted.

‘Here boy!’

‘He’s down this way.’ Noah pointed, and they picked up their pace as Spirit pattered down the steps that led to the covered outdoor swimming pool. He ran round the side and stopped in the corner closest to the building, triggering the hotel’s outdoor light sensor.

‘Thank God.’ She and Noah slowed in case he darted off again, but the dog seemed content to sit and pant, his fur tangled but his eyes bright.

‘Come on Spirit,’ Noah said breathlessly. ‘Tonight is not the night for this sort of nonsense.’

Spirit barked up at him and pawed at a large rock that was part of the rustic border separating the flowerbeds from the concrete surrounding the pool.

‘It’s OK, boy,’ Hannah cooed. ‘Don’t be frightened, it’s just a bit of wind.’ She took slow, gentle steps and crouched down, wishing they’d thought to grab a lead before they’d followed him. ‘You don’t need to be …’ Her eyes fell on the stone Spirit was pawing, and her words stuck in her throat.

‘What is it?’ Noah crouched next to her, and she felt him go still. ‘Fucking hell. Does that say what I think it does?’

‘Anna,’ Hannah read out shakily, ‘my heart is yours. I will see you again. H.’ It was crudely carved into the rock, an inelegant bit of graffiti. But the name and initial were right, the circumstances, the location.

‘That is crazy,’ Noah murmured.

‘Did Daniel use some of the stone from the Clifftop Hotel for the landscaping?’ Hannah asked. ‘It’s the kind of thing he’d do, isn’t it?’

‘It’s not in any of the reports, but I bet you’re right. Anyway, what else could this be?’ He took out his phone and snapped several shots of the stone.

‘I can’t believe we’ve found evidence to back up Audrey’s story,’ she said. ‘Anna, my heart is yours. I will see you again. H.’ She shivered, and Noah took her hand and helped her up.