He clambered inside, closed the door behind him and had a look around. A ceiling fan in the floor shone light up into the room.

It was like a miniature bomb shelter in there. It was carpeted, and there was a sleeping bag on top of a mattress. The room was stocked with canned food and water bottles and, hanging on the wall, a sawn-off shotgun and a Glock pistol. Since the firearms were in place, presumably Shelby’s intruder hadn’t found this room.

Ahab assumed that’s why the intruder was in the roof: looking for the bolthole. Looking for Davey.

The space was dusty and smelled of soap. A peek through the ceiling fan showed that it was directly above the master bathroom. A rope was coiled in a heap beside the casing of the fan, attached to a support beam with a pulley mechanism. That would’ve been the way in from the house. Clever.

He froze when he heard another voice up in the roof. There was no way into this bolthole from the rest of the roof space, but someone was just on the other side of the dividing wall.

‘Baz? Can you hear me? Am I near Shelby’s bedroom?’

It was De Corrado’s voice.

But who was Baz? It must’ve been her colleague, down in the house.

If he told them about this bolthole, then they’d know Davey was crooked . . .

No, he didn’t need to tell them.

The intruder hadn’t made it into the bolthole, and Davey wasn’t there either. Then he thought of the warm coffee with the whisky, and something occurred to him – had Davey Dempsey been in here when Ahab had come calling?

It was time to get out of there. Checking the area was free of police, he swiftly climbed back out onto the trellis. The trapdoor swung shut behind him. Now he climbed down, his mind turning furiously.

Tell Jesse I’m sorry.

Davey Dempsey knew something.

So where the hell is he?

CHAPTER 12

MACKEREL

Mackerel stood on the gravel driveway, next to a huddle of neighbours drawn to the commotion at Homeward. All around them the Black Wind hummed.

He listened in as a woman spoke to her friend. ‘Are you sure? I heard it was a peeping Tom, but Davey saw him and chased him off. Now both of them are missing —’

‘No, I talked to the officer, he told me it was a journalist trying to get the scoop on Forest. The poor family. They’ve been through enough.’

‘Why don’t you all head home?’ came a voice, causing the neighbours to jump. Mack spun to see Constable Linda, who flicked her torch back on. ‘We’ve got this under control. Everyone go home. Except for you, Mack.’