Before I could argue any further, he turned and walked away, back down the cliff path. I let him go. I had to focus on Rosie right now. Even if Dad and Kate had found her – and I prayed that she was safely inside – they must all be panicking that I hadn’t come back. When I checked my phone, I saw that almost two hours had passed since I’d left the lighthouse to look for her.

As I carried on down the path, I expected to hear my family moving about outside, calling my name, but the night was completely silent. Perhaps they 178were off on the other side of the island, looking for me? Maybe they’d left a note. But as I walked past the kitchen window, I glimpsed something that gave me a jolt of pure shock.

Dad and Kate were right back where they’d been before I’d interrupted them – sitting at the kitchen table, playing a card game with Charlie. Everyone looked completely relaxed and I even saw Dad laugh at something Charlie had said. For a moment I just stared, hardly able to believe that they’d let me wander off into the fog and hadn’t been worried at all. But it must mean that Rosie had come back at least. I went to the kitchen door and opened it.

They all looked round, big smiles on their faces.

“Oh, hi, Jess,” Dad said. “Were you stargazing? Surprised you can see anything on a night like this.”

I glared at him. “No, I wasn’t stargazing,” I snapped. “I was looking for Rosie, remember? What happened? I thought you were going to help me. Has she come back?”

I looked past them to the doorway, hoping to see Rosie there, but it was empty. When I glanced back at the others, they were all staring at me with confused expressions on their faces. 179

“Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked, feeling more and more annoyed. “Is Rosie home or not?”

Dad frowned and set down his cards. “Who’s Rosie?” he asked.

180

Chapter Fifteen

At first, I thought they were playing a weird joke on me, but then Dad started to get impatient and said, “Jess, honestly, I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’ve never heard of anyone called Rosie.”