‘Same.’ Maggie recalled the time he’d tried to get her into his car.
‘Knob,’ they said in unison, before laughing aloud. Shaking her head, Maggie turned the page.
‘Look, there’s Elsie. Remember her? Her father found her at the screening and marched her home. Poor thing. I was so embarrassed for her.’
‘I’d forgotten about that …’ Sarah stared at the photo of Elsie, her hair tied up in ringlets and ribbons. ‘I saw her, you know, after I left you yesterday. She’s really struggling with her weight.’
‘We all have our demons,’ Maggie said, quietly.
‘True,’ Sarah agreed. ‘But don’t you think we have more than most? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Slayton is cursed.’
Maggie sipped her wine, comforted by its plummy notes. ‘And yet we’re all still here. I thought you weren’t coming back.’
‘It was David’s idea,’ Sarah said. ‘I was quite happy working in police HQ. But then he was offered the sergeant’s job and said he could get me on his team. I couldn’t turn down the offer of a position in CID.’
The room fell silent as Maggie turned another page. Sarah looked so young next to David in the faded old photographs. She was a shy and nerdy girl, immature for her age. She met Maggie’s eyes.
‘I didn’t know … I’m supposed to be a detective, Maggie, and I had no idea he had a thing for young girls. I would never have married him.’
Sarah’s face was drawn. Her voice dropped as she continued. ‘I thought we had a good life. As good as I could hope for after what happened …’
‘Hey, it’s all in the past now.’ Maggie squeezed her friend’s hand. ‘You weren’t to know. None of us were.’ They sat in silence as the dishwasher swished in the background. It was an old model which barely worked, but the sound of the water was almost hypnotic. Maggie took another large sip of wine.
‘How’s Elliott coping?’ Sarah asked, her composure back.
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 todiethat 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.
