Maggie blinked to bring herself back to ground. It was an obvious change of subject but Maggie was happy to go along with it. She had seen Sarah gaze at her scratched arm when she’d last called around.

‘He has night terrors, bad ones,’ Maggie said flatly. ‘That’s where the bites and scratches came from. Social services got involved for a while then out of the blue, it all stopped. That was months ago. Seems the night terrors are back again, worse than before.’

Sarah looked deep in thought. ‘The last time I was here, Elliott said something to me. I haven’t been able to get it out of my head.’

‘What’s that?’ Maggie rested her glass on the table. Talk of Elliott reminded her that she could not afford to get drunk.

Sarah tilted her glass as she accepted a top-up. ‘He said the Midnight Man is coming, and something about the angel being dead. Does that mean anything to you?’

‘No.’ Maggie looked at her in genuine puzzlement. ‘Should it?’

‘Well …’ Sarah paused to take another sip of wine. ‘I probably shouldn’t say anything. Can I trust you to keep a secret?’

‘Of course,’ Maggie nodded vehemently. As friends, Sarah and Maggie had kept each other’s secrets all the time.

‘Simon Irving’s daughter Angelica went missing on Halloween night. Her brother said she’d arranged to play some midnight game with friends. It looks like they went to Blackhall Manor. She’s not been seen since.’

Mention of the Manor made Maggie straighten in her chair. ‘Oh. I see. How do you feel about that?’

‘I’m scared for her, if I’m honest. That place is falling apart.’

Maggie sensed more behind her friend’s words. What she had been through as a child put her own problems in the shade.

‘I was wondering,’ Sarah said. ‘Could Elliott have picked it up from the babysitters?’

‘It’s possible …’ Maggie paused for thought. ‘Come to think of it, Libby and Jahmelia couldn’t come over tonight. I thought it was weird, them crying off sick at the same time.’

‘Interesting. Sarah made a mental note to do some digging on their whereabouts when she got back to work. Her expression grew serious as she prepared to confide in her friend. ‘I got a letter addressed to my old name of Sarah Middleton. It was really nasty. It said I was supposed to die that night. They signed off as the Midnight Man.’

‘Bloody hell.’

‘I know. And Maggie, they said they’d killed Angelica, and that they were watching me.’ She plucked nervously at her hair.

Maggie looked into her eyes, searching. ‘When did you get this?’

‘Yesterday. Someone shoved it through my cat flap. I got a heavy breather phone call too. I reported it to work. They’re fully aware.’

Maggie suppressed a shudder. ‘What did they make of it?’