Frederick finally looked up from his phone and glanced around him. I flattened myself behind the tree. He was clearly checking to see there was no one around. No one he needed to pretend he cared in front of. I peered round the tree. He had now gone to Florence. He leaned down and pulled her roughly up by the front of her coat. The little girl stood there next to him. The whimpering stopped. He leaned down to talk to her. I couldn’t make out the words but I made out the sharp tone, and the tears continuing to roll down her face. He walked off. She followed behind, holding her hurt arm.

I leaned back against the tree and closed my eyes.

Frederick.

A sociopath.

Devoid of feeling.

Playing the part expected of him.

What did this mean?

Sociopaths had no feelings. No empathy. No loyalty.

Could he be the Snake?

But how?

Why?

It didn’t make sense.

We wouldn’t even know about the Tenebris Network if he hadn’t brought it to Dugdale.

We wouldn’t even know there was a Snake.

Why risk drawing attention to the fact there was a traitor? Why not just carry on raking in the money?

I needed to get to the Platform.

Right after I dropped Gigi, dressed as a piece of corn, off at the harvest festival.

*

I looked around the church. Frederick and Florence weren’t here yet. How bad was her arm? Maybe she’d had to go to hospital? I looked at the motley crew of toddlers dressed as root vegetables and tried to shake off the thought they were using our children as props to decorate a very sparse-looking church. It wasn’t like any of these two-year-olds would be capable of joining in the rousing rendition of ‘We Plough the Fields and Scatter’ they had planned. I shook it off. Considering this was free childcare on a Sunday morning, I shouldn’t question it.

With Gigi safely planted with the rest of the crop, I waited by the church doors for them to arrive.

My heart skipped a beat as I saw Frederick open the church gate, a pale Florence dressed in a carrot costume alongside him.

Frederick smiled at me as he walked down the pathway. He was wearing chinos and a light blue shirt, the sleeves rolled up. He looked so normal. So handsome. A good apple. With a rotten core.

I smiled back.

‘How’s Peng?’ he asked as he ushered Florence through the church doors and towards a waiting Yvonne. I watched her walk slowly down the aisle. That poor girl. ‘Lex?’