He turned and bounded down the hall. But with each step he took, a feeling of dread rose. His feet became heavy, as if he were wearing space boots. Thump … thump … thump, the echoes of heavy footsteps against a long wide staircase played in his mind. He wiped his damp palms against his jeans before pushing the feeling away. But the badness in his tummy wouldn’t go. He wished he could talk to his friends. Not school friends – he sat alone in the playground – but Libby and Jahmelia. When they babysat, they were always nice to him. Once, he had even tried to tell them about the nightmares, but Libby had looked at him funny and asked if he was feeling OK. Maggie had warned him about sharing secrets. She said people wouldn’t understand.

Elliott had just laid the towels on the rack in the bathroom like his mother had shown him when the doorbell rang. He stood behind her in the narrow hallway as the woman was allowed in. She was smaller and broader than Maggie, with dark wavy hair. She smiled at him as she spoke, but Elliott didn’t smile back. Just because people looked friendly, it didn’t mean they could be trusted.

His mother seemed surprised. ‘Sarah, I wasn’t expecting …’ she said, staring but smiling. ‘I mean, I didn’t know you were back at work.’

The woman was holding a small leather notebook in her hand. ‘It’s my first day back today.’

‘Good for you.’ Maggie touched the woman’s arm. ‘It’s great to see you out and about.’

Maggie switched her gaze to Elliott. ‘Elliott, do you remember Sarah? She’s an old school friend of mine.’ Elliott didn’t recall the woman before him, but gave her a smile, now she came with his mother’s approval. Mummy stopped going out after Daddy went to hospital. She didn’t have any friends around. He followed them into the sitting room, edging around the sofa as his mother took a seat.

‘I see you’re still painting then.’ Sarah pointed at the pictures on the living-room walls. Both Maggie and her sister had been artists. Elliott’s favourite picture was the one of a tortoise which hung in his room.

‘When I get time,’ Maggie replied. ‘But you’re not here to talk about that.’

Control had already called ahead to let Maggie know that enquiries were being made. ‘We’ve had reports of a prowler last night,’ Sarah said, taking the armchair. ‘Patrolling officers gave chase, and they cut through your garden as they ran away. It was most likely kids …’ She grinned at Elliott. ‘Given it was Halloween.’