‘You know what?’ Liz muttered as the three of them poked around the Morrow mansion’s lower levels. ‘Misty’s right. This place is creepy, even with Mercy gone. At least when we’re all here together, it doesn’t feel so empty. I don’t know how Lucas lives here on his own.’

They were in the kitchen, which looked like it hadn’t been used for months. Lucas mostly ate take-out, or in town with his friends. Faye headed for the fridge, hoping to find some sort of clue pinned to it. Her dad was always leaving her notes on theirs. But there was nothing here.

‘I think he’s just used to being creeped out,’ said Jimmy. ‘I mean, he must have been all the time, growing up with Mercy for a mom. Don’t you think?’

Faye found a piece of paper on the table and looked at it. ‘Hey, guys,’ she said, holding it up. It was an invoice from a garage. ‘Looks like Lucas has been spending his stepdad’s money. He’s bought himself some new wheels – a motorbike!’

‘Really?’ Jimmy took the invoice and looked at it, shaking his head with a low whistle. ‘Wow. A Harley! That’s so cool.’

Faye sighed as she looked into the empty pantry. ‘There’s no sign of him anywhere. It’s almost as if he was never here.’

‘Let’s go look in his room again,’ suggested Jimmy, dropping the bill back on the table. ‘I know you said there was nothing to see, but you know how it is – an extra pair of eyes or two might help.’

Lucas’s room was still the same as it had been an hour or so before. The three friends all looked around for a few minutes, but there was nothing to suggest where Lucas might have gone.

Liz flopped down on the sofa with a sigh. ‘It’s like he vanished into thin air, or something,’ she said. ‘Have you tried calling him again?’

Faye shook her head and pulled out her phone. She was just about to dial Lucas’s number again when Jimmy called from the bathroom.

‘Hey,’ he said. ‘Look at this, by the door.’

The two girls went to see what he had found. Jimmy was kneeling on the white tiles of the bathroom floor, pointing at two long black marks. Faye frowned and knelt down beside him.

‘What are they?’ Liz asked.

Faye shook her head. ‘They could be scuff marks . . . Like, from the rubber on the bottom of a shoe?’

They were all silent for a moment. ‘What would cause that?’ Liz asked quietly.

Faye shrugged. ‘I don’t know. Someone rubbing their feet along the floor?’

‘Or . . . maybe someone being dragged?’ Jimmy wondered.

‘Oh my God,’ said Liz, putting a hand over her mouth. ‘Guys, this is getting scary . . .’

Footsteps echoed somewhere in the house. They came up the stairs, growing louder and closer. They were heading straight for Lucas’s room. Faye watched as Liz’s eyes grew large and round with fear.

‘There’s no one else in the house,’ hissed Liz as Faye and Jimmy stood up. ‘Guys, there’s no one here but us! Who is it?’

Faye swallowed, feeling fear wrap itself around her heart. She went to the door, waving at the other two to stay where they were. Pulling the door open a crack, she peered through it.

‘Finn!’ she exclaimed when she saw who it was. Throwing open the door, she rushed over to him. ‘Are you OK? What happened?’

Finn smiled, though she could see the worry in his expressive eyes. ‘I’m fine. Just a bit of an argument.’

‘What about? I’ve never seen the pack that mad at each other.’

He shrugged. ‘Some of them want to leave. They’ve had a job offer. The rest think the pack should stay here. It’s my fault . . . I’ve neglected them. They’re not used to staying in one place for so long. I’ve persuaded them that we need to stay together, at least for now. So none of them will go. But I’m going to have to work out what to do. They’re my responsibility, and they’re not happy . . .’

Faye looked up at him, and realized something. It wasn’t Finn’s fault. It was hers. She was the reason he had stayed in Winter Mill for so long. If it wasn’t for her, the bikers would still be on the road, and happy. Her heart sank. How long would Finn stay? she wondered. Wouldn’t he eventually get bored, and want to move on? How could this tiny place be interesting enough to keep his attention, after everything he’d seen in the world? She blinked, trying not to think about Finn leaving. Faye couldn’t imagine her life without him. She didn’t want to.

‘Has the lord of the manor turned up, then?’ Finn asked, nodding at the door behind them.

‘No,’ said Faye. ‘We’ve looked all over. There’s no sign of him anywhere in the house. It’s like he . . . just walked out. You don’t think that’s weird?’

Finn shrugged. ‘It might be,’ he admitted. ‘He’s definitely only got one car now?’

‘Yes,’ said Faye. Then she remembered the invoice. ‘Oh – but it looks like he’s bought himself a motorbike. We found the bill for it downstairs.’

Finn raised his eyebrows. ‘A bike? Really? He doesn’t seem the type. Have you seen it?’

‘No,’ Faye told him.

Finn raised his hands. ‘There you go, then! He’s taken off on it for the weekend. He was talking about going to see some of his old friends in Florida over the summer, right? I bet that’s what he’s done.’

‘Without telling us?’ Faye asked. ‘When he’d arranged a party?’

‘He probably just wanted to get on the road. I would if a new bike of mine arrived! I bet he’ll call.’

Faye shook her head, unconvinced. She headed back into Lucas’s room, with Finn following. ‘We found this too . . .’

She was about to explain about the marks on the floor when she realized that Finn was no longer beside her. He had stopped just inside Lucas’s door, the blood draining from his face so fast that it was like liquid being poured from a bottle. His skin turned white, and then grey.

‘Finn?’ she asked. ‘What’s wrong? Are you OK?’

He tried to smile. ‘I . . . I’m fine,’ he managed, but she could hear the shake in his voice. He was shivering, looking around the room as if checking for something. But all he said was, ‘Sorry. I guess the fight shook me up more than I thought. Look – I’m going to go, all right? I’ll call you in the morning.’

Finn came and pulled her close, just for a moment. Faye could feel the unsteady hammering of his heart as he kissed the top of her head.

‘Do you want me to come with you?’ she asked, holding onto him, feeling his body shake, even through his thick leathers. ‘You don’t look well.’

He pulled away and smiled down at her. ‘I’m fine,’ he said again. ‘Promise. Talk to you tomorrow.’

He vanished back out of the door before Faye could say anything else. His footsteps echoed as he went down the stairs, then the front door banged shut behind him.

‘Well,’ said Liz, into the silence. ‘That was a little weird.’

‘So far, everything about today has been weird,’ Jimmy pointed out. ‘Come on, I think we should go too. We can try calling Lucas again – and maybe Aunt Pam knows where he is. You two girls have got a car, right?’

Faye stayed behind for a moment as Liz and Jimmy headed downstairs. She looked around Lucas’s empty room, and felt a shudder pass down her spine. She’d thought all was well again in Winter Mill. She’d thought they were finally putting all the strangeness that Mercy had brought with her behind them.

It looked as if she’d been wrong.