Chapter 2

Fin stopped outside the house, out of breath after run­ning up the hill from Billy's. He stared at the gate.

It was open, banging in the wind. He was sure he had closed it. Someone must have come to the house. He closed it and walked up to the front door. Damn! He'd forgotten his key again. He went around the side of the house. There was a light in Ella's room.

"El! Let me in!" he shouted. There was no answer.

Then he heard a sound. The back door was open, banging like the gate. He ran into the kitchen. Everything looked normal, but he was worried now. He felt that something was wrong. He hurried into the hall.

"El? Sammy? Where are you?" his voice was full of fear now. Silence. He walked to the stairs and then saw a piece of paper with writing on it on the floor by the front door. The words hit him like knives.

TELL ANYBODY AND SHE'S DEAD. WE'LL CONTACT YOU.

"No!" he cried and ran upstairs. Ella's bedroom was empty. Sam’s bedroom was empty. Mum and Dad's room. Empty. He raced through the house, checking all the rooms. Empty. What had he done? He'd left them alone, and now they were gone. But the note had only said 'she'.

He ran upstairs to Sam's room, opened the cupboard and pushed the box of toys to one side.

Sam was not there.

This was all his fault. If he'd been there, he could have done something. Now this had happened...

Where were Mum and Dad? Having coffee at the Meades'? He rang the number and Billy answered. No, his parents were not back yet.

"Anything wrong?" asked Billy, noticing the fear in Fin's voice.

"No," Fin lied, "Just don't tell your parents I was there, OK?"

He put down the phone and looked at his watch. Nearly eleven. The pub would be closing soon. He rang the number.

"Fin Parnell here. Are my parents still there, Mr Langworthy?"

"No, Fin. They've just left with Stuart and Sarah Meade. Nothing wrong, I hope?"

"No. No. Everything's fine. It wasn't important. Goodbye."

Fin ran out into the garden. Perhaps Ella and Sam had gone to see if Biscuit, Ella's horse, was all right. Bis­cuit hated storms. Then he heard the sound of his par­ents' car coming up the hill. He turned round, and in the car lights he could see the marks on the grass where a struggle had taken place. "Mum! Dad!" he shouted. Dad was opening the big gate for Mum to drive in. "Fin? That you? What's wrong?"

"Ella's been kidnapped. And Sam's missing, too.”

"What? What happened?"

"I don't know. I... I went down the road to Billy's."

"You bloody fool," said his father. "You bloody fool!"

"What's happened, Peter?" asked Mum, running up to them.

"Come inside out of the rain," said Mr Parnell. "Fin'll tell you!"

They sat down in the kitchen. Mr Parnell said nothing.

"Now then," said Mum. "What's happened?"

"Ella's been kidnapped and Sam's missing."

"What?" She jumped to her feet. Fin showed her the note. "Oh, my God!" she cried, handing the note to Dad. "How did this happen? You must have seen some­thing, Fin?"

"I didn't. I was... I was at Billy's. It's all my fault!" he sobbed.

"You're damn right it's your fault!" shouted Mr Par­nell. "What the hell did you go there for?"

"Billy wanted to show me his new computer. Ella said she'd be OK."

"But you know how frightened she is alone in the house," cried Mum. She turned to Dad. "We've got to call the police."

"We can't do that," said Dad. "Read the note, Susan!"

"But we can't just do nothing!" Mrs Parnell sat down again, her head in her hands. Dad put a hand on her shoulder.

"The note only says 'she^’, so Sam could be some­where else. We can't call the police, but we can look for him ourselves. You stay here, Susan, in case the kid­nappers ring. Come on, Fin. Let's go."

"We'll check the village first," muttered Mr Parnell as they drove off. "Then we'll try the fields behind the house and the coast path."

Fin said nothing. He didn't trust himself to speak.

They saw nothing in the village, so they turned and drove back to the fields behind the house, where they got out. Fin was still fighting his feelings. He knew it was all his fault. He should never have left her. He remembered her smiling face as he left the house. He should have known that she was just trying to be brave. She was always frightened alone in the house. If any­thing happened to her, he would never forgive himself. Mum and Dad would never forgive him, either.

Fin checked the coast path while his father looked round the fields.

It was spooky here at night. He'd only ever been here during the day, walking down to Pengrig lighthouse at the edge of the cliffs. It was a great place for thinking. But now, in the dark, he felt small and alone.

The sea was below him now. There were the cliffs, the coast path; and there, running through the rain, was a small figure.