Where was Dale? Where was Isabel? She knew the layout of Frank’s house from memory, but only vaguely – she hadn’t been here for a while. As she recalled, there were only two rooms up here – the master bedroom at the front of the house and a slightly smaller bedroom at the back. Which one should she check first? She knew the wrong move now would be fatal.

She tried to steady her breathing, tried to remain cool, as she stood there by the small table, its lamp giving out a cosy yellow glow that belied the life-and-death stakes that were being played out here in this little suburban semi.

She decided to go with what she knew. Taking a few steps to her right, she pushed open the door to the back bedroom and very quietly flicked the light on. On the floor, she noticed a small bag with some children’s clothes spilling out of it. This had to be where Isabel was staying. It was the room that Frank used as a guest bedroom and it had its own en-suite bathroom. Bailey had stayed in it once when Frank had invited her over for dinner a few years ago.

She padded rapidly over to the bed and knelt down to look underneath. There, small and quivering, lay Isabel, curled in a ball, her wide, frightened eyes looking back at Bailey.

A burst of relief went through Bailey. Thank God she was still alive. But they didn’t have much time.

‘Hey, Isabel,’ whispered Bailey, trying to put on a light-hearted smile. ‘I’m here to help. I’m a friend of your dad’s.’

The eyes stared back at her like mute saucers. At least she wasn’t making any noise.

Bailey stretched a hand out under the bed. ‘Take my hand,’ said Bailey. ‘And I’ll take you out of here. But we’ve got to be quick.’

The girl seemed to sense that Bailey meant no harm and to understand the urgency of the situation. Bailey felt the small hand worm into hers, and with a gentle tug, she pulled Isabel out from under the bed.

She was dressed in a pair of pink pyjamas and her red hair was tied up in a ponytail. Giving her a brief once-over, Bailey determined that she didn’t appear to have any physical injuries. The important thing was to make sure it stayed that way. She just had to get out of this room, down the stairs and out of the house to safety, probably a neighbour’s house. Then she could call for help and come back for Frank.

Hoisting Isabel up in her arms, she turned to leave the bedroom. And just as she did so, Dale appeared in the doorway.

His mouth dropped open in astonishment at the sight of her, his eyes widening as he took in her appearance – her tangled hair… her shoeless feet… He blinked, appearing to have some problem processing the fact that she was standing right here in front of him when she should have been dead and dismembered in a back room in Essex by now.