It wouldn’t surprise me if Andrew Buckley was involved, but we need proof. The DI strides down the corridor, speaking over his shoulder and not letting me get a word in. ‘Get Buckley in for questioning. Find out if he knows what Mason’s involved in. We need his phone and his computer. And get over to Mason’s. Is Collins going with you?’

I check to see if she’s answered the text I sent earlier. ‘Looks like she’s nearly there. Sir, don’t you think this sudden accusation against Andrew Buckley is simply Hampton grinding his axe? Buckley was having an affair with his wife, and Buckley’s son was instrumental in Hollie going off the rails – at least, that’s what Hampton would like us to believe. I think he’s just attempting to buy his way out. Did you see his face when you mentioned court? I’m not sure I’d take him entirely seriously.’

The DI’s face is impassive. ‘We’ll know more once we’ve spoken to Buckley.’

It’s easy to imagine what Andrew Buckley’s going to say when he’s told the police want to question him again. I check my watch. ‘I need to get over to Mason’s.’

*

As I drive, I try to work out how long it would take Mason to drive from Portsmouth to his house in Abingworth, putting my foot down. If he’s in some top-of-the-range Audi, he could have got here faster than the DI predicted.

As I approach Abingworth, the stone walls of the village houses suddenly seem sinister. It’s like no other village I’ve ever been to, not just because there’s so little interaction among the villagers. It’s more that everything about this place is hidden – the people, their homes, their lives, their secrets. As I drive, the distant drone of a low-flying helicopter reaches my ears. Pulling over, I watch its outline rising above the trees.

It looks as though it’s just taken off and, instinctively, I know where it’s come from. Putting my foot down hard, I drive as fast as I dare to Mason’s house, only slowing when I see Sarah’s car in front of the locked gates.

Getting out, I look at her. ‘That was him, wasn’t it?’

She nods. ‘I think so. The helicopter must have landed behind the house before we got here. I didn’t see or hear it until it took off. I’d been here about ten minutes before it started up.’