Alice shakes her head, her throat closing. ‘Please don’t go, Leon. The four of us can stay. We’ll be safe here until morning.’

‘I really think Leon should try to get us help, Alice,’ Christine says. ‘If he can.’

‘No!’ Tears fill her eyes. ‘Leon, please, this is ridiculous.’

But she knows from his determined look that Leon thinks he’s doing the right thing. He leans in, kisses her cheek. ‘I have to do this,’ he says. ‘Stay with Christine and Faith at all times. Go up to one of the rooms as soon as I leave, and don’t come out until I’m back with the police, whatever happens.’

He walks away, and as he disappears through the double doors into reception, Alice’s body shakes, memories of losing her father filling her thoughts. She can’t lose Leon too. She just can’t.

*

Alice unlocks the door to her room, and is about to press down the handle when it hits her, ‘Oh God, we should probably check on Mitch first.’

Faith slaps her hand to her mouth. ‘I totally forgot about him.’ She looks towards the end of the dimly lit hallway. ‘And if I’m honest, I don’t fancy checking. I mean, what if he’s …?’

‘What? Dead? The killer?’ Alice’s voice is high-pitched – neither option sounds good, and she doesn’t fancy finding out.

‘Well I’m not going down there.’ Christine pushes past Alice, opens the door. ‘He’s locked in. We should lock ourselves in too, like we planned.’

Faith and Alice look at each other for a moment, before following Christine into the room.

Once the door is locked and bolted, Alice lowers herself down onto the hard, wooden floor, but she feels far from safe. Safe would be sitting in the tangled garden of Butterfly Cottage, Henry sprawled in the sunshine, her father, very much alive, telling her about the latest book he’s working on, her telling him how well her little shop in Whitby is doing. She loved it when they talked in the moment, not looking back, or forward – just that precious, safe moment in time – just the two of them.

She rests her back against the wall, and lowers her head, hair falling over her face. She cradles her knees, her mind drifting to Leon; still unable to believe he’s taken off, left her here in this nightmare, putting himself in danger.