Fiona patted his head and started to get up.

‘I called him a name,’ Jack blurted out, tears now running down his face. ‘I said his jokes were for babies and that he couldn’t run as fast as us and I think he got in a huff.’

‘What did you call him, Jack?’ Chris shouted at his son.

Fiona put up her hand and shook her head. ‘Leave it, not important.’

There was a whisper from Jack who was now blubbing. ‘A schemie, I called him a schemie.’

‘A what?’ Chris barked.

‘I didn’t mean it, he’s not, but some boys in his class are and…’

Fiona got to her feet. ‘Forget it. Right now, we need to find out where he went from here.’

‘We still thought he was with us though, really we did,’ Andrew said. ‘Why don’t we all go along in lines towards the far end, like you see on the telly, see if we can see any of his sweetie wrappers or anything, then get back to the house and…’

‘Phone the police.’ Fiona snapped.

Chris put an arm gently on Fiona’s. ‘I’m sure it’ll be fine, Fiona, really. But why don’t you head home with the boys and I’ll nip down to the funfair, just in case?’

Fiona nodded ‘Okay, have you got your mobile?’

Chris nodded and set off towards Riverside Drive, marching with his arms by his side. A beam of light from his torch flashed up and down as he headed for the river.

Watching him, a lone figure in the dark, Fiona’s thoughts turned to something horrible she had read in the papers recently about a child molester who hung around school gates during the day and funfairs at night. And hadn’t Jamie said he had seen someone who looked like Pete at the school gates? Surely not.

* * *

About twenty minutes later, she and the three boys crunched up the gravel path and she pushed open the back door to hear the noise of the television. She was sure she had not left it on. She ran through to the lounge and flung the door open. In front of the television, his Halloween costume in disarray, sat Jamie, chomping on something chewy. His broom lay on the floor in front of him.

‘Hi, Mum, sorry I was late.’ He poked a bit of toffee from a tooth with his finger.

Fiona rushed to her son and hugged him. She drew back, looked at his face, smudged with paints, and shouted, ‘Where the hell have you been? We’ve been looking everywhere for you!’

Jamie looked round at the three boys who had come into the room. He said nothing but put the volume up on the television.

‘Where have you been?’ Fiona blinked her tears away and grabbed the remote control from her son. She stabbed the off button and threw it onto a chair.