‘Excuse me,’ I interrupt, ‘did you say they found a body? Do you mean the Green girl?’

‘Yes, they had the cadaver dogs up at the Bulverton Woods and they found something,’ Paul responds.

‘Is it her?’ I ask.

‘Who else is it going to be?’ Paul says.

It could be anyone. I don’t think anyone realises the secrets buried in this little valley town.

I pay for my food and leave. I remember what a nightmare it is to get taxis around here so I rush back to the hotel to pick up the car. I know I shouldn’t drive, I know I am over the limit, but I need to know what they found in the woods. I don’t know how close I can even get, but I have to try.

I jog most of the way to the hotel, which isn’t the greatest idea after a day of vodka and beer. My head feels fuzzy. I take the keys and get in the car. At least there is a bottle of water in the space between the seats. It’s half finished and I don’t know how long it’s been in the car, but I don’t really care about the bacteria at this point. I drink the water in the hope that it will sober me up a little. I don’t feel drunk, but I know how much I have had over the course of the day. I didn’t think I would need to drive.

I pull out of the hotel car park and into the road, past the terrace where I was sitting with Jason and up the road towards the Bulverton Woods. I don’t know why I feel so urgent about getting there when she is already dead, but I need to know for sure that she is gone, that there is no hope for her. Maybe one of the police officers will speak to me. The traffic on the way to the woods is tight and slows at the bottleneck with All Saints Road. I can feel myself getting closer to both the woods and the street my old family home is on. I wanted to avoid seeing it if I could. I know I shouldn’t, but I close my eyes as I drive past the turning, tears falling. I can’t help but wonder what it looks like now; I wonder if the years of neglect have been unkind. A part of me hopes the place has been swallowed into the ground.