Chapter 4

“What happened, Sam?" asked Mum.

They were in the kitchen: Mum was drying Sam, Sam was drying Teddy, Fin was drinking hot chocolate. Dad was staring down at the table, thinking hard about the situation. Fin looked at Sam's face. There was something strange about it. He didn't look like a boy who had just had a terrible shock. When Fin found him, he had been running around as if he were playing with some­one. Someone who wasn't there.

"Sam," said Mum again. "You must tell us what happened."

"I hid in the cupboard like Ella told me. She told me to stay there until you came back. She promised to come back, too.”

“Where is she?"

"She's gone away for a little while," said Dad.

Fin looked carefully at Sam and asked: "Sammy, if Ella told you to stay in the cupboard, why did you run away to the cliffs?"

"It's a secret," said Sam with a serious face.

Sam always had lots of secrets which he only told Teddy.

"Sammy, did one of your secret friends tell you to run to the cliffs?"

Sam nodded. He had secret friends with whom be often played. Friends whom only Teddy and he could see. Part of his play-world. But he had never run to the cliffs before.

Mum put Sam to bed and came down again. She sat down on the sofa and looked nervously at Fin and her husband.

"I'm so frightened. Why haven't the kidnappers phoned?

"They will," said Dad. "We must keep calm and not go to pieces. We must find out what the kidnappers want first. If we haven't heard from them in the morn­ing, we can think about going to the police."

The phone rang. Mr Parnell switched the loudspeaker on before picking up the phone. They all listened.

"Mr Parnell?" said the voice of a boy of about Fin's age. "I've been looking forward to this conversation so much."

"Who are you? What do you want?" asked Dad.

"A hundred thousand pounds in cash by Wednesday," said the voice.

"I want to speak to Ella."

"Not possible, I'm afraid."

"How do I know she's not dead? How can I trust you?"

"You don't. You can't.”

"I can't give you anything unless I know she's alive,"

"Then she dies. Bye."

"Wait!" cried Dad. There was a silence but no click.

"For God's sake, just... wait. I'm not sure if I can get the money by Wednesday."

"Of course you can. You're a millionaire. You own a chain of supermarkets all over Cornwall. You live in the biggest house in Trevally. You can do anything you want. Get the money by midday on Wednesday if you want to see your daughter alive." "But it's early Tuesday morning already," said Dad.

"Then you haven't got much time. And remember what I said. Tell nobody. If I find out you've told some­one, you'll get your daughter back one piece at a time."

There was a click and the voice was gone.

Chapter 5

Ella sat by the opening to the tunnel. She had not moved since the boy left. She watched the sea rushing in and racing out again.

She didn't want to go up the tunnel, but she was cold and wet and couldn't stay in the cave all night.

She stepped into the dark tunnel and felt her way along the walls. The tunnel led up into the cliffs and ended in a small chamber about as big as Mum and Dad's bed­room. A little light was coming in through two holes in the walls. Ella could see three large boxes in the far corner. She opened them.

The first box was full of bottles of mineral water, the next contained a towel and two blankets. She put one round her shoulders and began to feel warmer. In the third box were packets of sandwiches. They were from Parnell’s supermarket in Newquay. When she saw her family's name on the packets, Ella began to cry. At the bottom of the box were apples and bananas, all from Dad's Newquay supermarket.

Ella tried to think, but all she could do was feel. And what she felt was pain. She sat there for a long time, staring into the darkness. Then she realized she was hungry and opened a packet of sandwiches. They tasted good. She opened another packet and ate two more sandwiches.

The boy had planned the kidnapping well. Maybe he wasn't going to kill her. Maybe he just wanted money from Dad.

She closed her eyes and tried to sleep, but all she could think of was Sam's face, looking at her from behind the box of toys in his cupboard, and Fin. He would never forgive himself for leaving her alone.

Fin sat on the edge of his bed staring at the wall. Mum had sent him to bed but he knew he wouldn't sleep. Neither would Mum and Dad. He could hear them talking downstairs.

He opened the curtains. It was getting light and the storm was nearly over. He put his head against the glass and closed his eyes.

"El," he murmured. "I'm sorry."

He heard a voice out on the landing. It was Sam's yet it sounded strangely dream-like.

"I can't come. I promised Mummy."

Who was he talking to? Fin walked to the door and quietly up behind his little brother, who was standing at the top of the stairs. There was nobody else there.

"Sammy?" he said softly. "What's the matter?"

Sam turned. His eyes were wide, as if he had seen a ghost.

"Is Ella going to die? I want Ella to come back."

"Who are you talking to, Sammy?" Sam closed his lips firmly. "It's all right," Fin went on. "You don't have to tell me if it's a secret. Ella will soon be back."

"Is she thinking about us - right now?"

"Yes, Sammy." He kissed Sam's head. "She's thinking about us right now."