My mind raced as I sat in my car. I checked my watch. Almost 10 p.m. The time teenagers were in bed but not yet asleep. I was parked beneath a broken street lamp, grateful for the darkness. Seeing so much of Sarah was messing with my head. It took all of my strength not to jump her as she marched to her car, and drag her to Blackhall there and then. But I had a formula. One where the end result was me not getting caught. I couldn’t see myself in prison. Where was the justice in that? Not when she was the one so blatantly in the wrong. Things were moving too quickly, though. I needed to accelerate my plans.

Why was Sarah pretending to show concern for Elsie now? It wasn’t as if she’d had any time for her in school. It was probably Sarah’s fault that Elsie had been snooping around. She’d been putting ideas in her head. Something had made Elsie go upstairs. But there was little that could implicate me – apart from the cloak, and given Halloween had just passed, that could be explained away. Just the same, there were too many threads hanging loose for my liking. Closing my eyes, I inhaled a deep breath. It was easy to get overwhelmed. I reminded myself that it came down to just one thing: finish the Midnight Game. Player one was dead. Player two was in hospital. Player three would soon be in the morgue. Next time I would be more careful. The dead couldn’t tell tales, after all.

The mobile on my passenger seat beeped with a text and I glanced down. It was player three, Jahmelia, replying to the text I’d sent from a burner phone, pretending to be Libby. I had asked for a meetup – in secret, of course, while explaining my old phone had been lost.

Cool! I didn’t know you were out of hospital. Mum and Dad won’t tell me anything.

Am OK … I texted. But the police have been here. Need 2CU. I’m scared x

Jahmelia’s response was instant.

Glad UR OK but I’m freaking out 2. Sorry. I can’t keep the Midnight Game a secret anymore.

A gasp of surprise left my parted lips. Well now, that was quicker than expected. I knew she was nervous, but I didn’t think she’d cave just yet.

I checked my surroundings before crafting a reply.

OK, but we should get our stories straight. We cd B in big trouble for holding back so long. Meet in the playground. Don’t get caught. Xox

I stared at the text, wondering if I could convince its recipient that it was Libby talking.

Now? x

The one-word response gave me the reassurance I needed. How dumb is this kid?

I replied with a thumbs up and added.

Am here. Don’t let me down, Jay. Xox