Nursing his bitten arm, which was bleeding profusely, Jack edged backwards, away from Waffles. Towards the cliff edge.

I grabbed Waffles’ collar and pulled him down from the barrier. Once I put distance between us, I called to Jack. ‘You’re pretty close to the edge.’ I kept my voice even. Seeing him standing frozen on the edge of the abyss, it occurred to me in a blinding flash that the world be a better place if he went over. Women would be safer.

I didn’t take my eyes off him.

First, he held my gaze, but then he winced and looked down at his bleeding arm. ‘Oh jeez!’ he said and took a half-stumbling step back. He was too close to the edge. A cluster of rocks underfoot dislodged and clattered over the rim.

I gasped, an involuntary reaction to another human in peril.

‘You need to come back over the barrier,’ I called.

‘Fuck off, bitch! I’m not coming back over till you piss off.’

This was one of those moments when an important choice had to be made. All my training told me to talk him off the ledge, to call for help, but my natural revulsion towards this violent man and the lingering pain where he’d grabbed my throat won out. Without another word, I clipped on Waffles’ lead and took off back down the path, leaving Jack Barratt on the brink of the Devil’s Corner.

As we hit the path, I could sense Waffles was still on high alert, wrenching at the lead and barking into a copse of trees.

I scanned the trees. Couldn’t see anyone. ‘Come on, boy,’ I panted and pulled him back into line. The trip up had been filled with joy. The trip back, fuelled by anger.

Back in the car park, Waffles and I climbed into the car. My hands still shook a little as I buckled him in, even though the run back to the car had drained a lot of the adrenaline from my cliff-top encounter. When I climbed into the driver’s seat, Waffles leaned into me and rested his head on my shoulder. I patted him and told him what a good boy he was. All the while, my eyes never left the path. Jack shouldn’t be too far behind us. The rest of the car park was empty; Jack lived in town, so he must have run here from his place.