Alice settled herself down next to him. He could smell the perfume she always wore. Something very light and sweet, rather old-fashioned. ‘I could barely see you sitting here,’ she said. ‘What happened to the robes?’
Harry had taken off his robes and collar at the first chance he’d had. ‘Too hot,’ he said. ‘And far too distinctive. I needed to blend into the background for a while.’
Alice let her head fall on to one side. It felt like a very familiar gesture, although he didn’t think he’d seen her make it before. ‘Did someone upset you?’ she asked.
He looked at her properly, tempted to tell her about his chat with Tobias, then decided against it. Why ruin her evening too? She was looking happier tonight than he’d seen her since they’d met. He’d have a quiet word with Gareth later in the week.
‘I had a date tonight,’ he said, surprising himself. ‘She blew me out.’
Alice’s small face lit up. ‘A date? How exciting.’
Harry held up both hands. ‘And yet not, as it turns out.’
‘I’m sorry.’ Alice touched his arm briefly. ‘Did she give you a reason?’
‘She just left a message on my answer machine. She said work was piling up. Hoped we could get together in a couple of weeks or so if things calmed down. Didn’t sound hopeful.’
‘Bad luck,’ said Alice after a second. ‘Want another drink?’
‘If I have another drink I’ll be spending the night in the vestry,’ said Harry. ‘But we should get back to the party. Come on.’
Harry and Alice stood up and walked back through the apple trees towards the house. When they were once again approaching the crowd of people Harry became aware of urgent movement, of someone pushing their way though the throng. A second later Gareth Fletcher appeared, holding Tom’s hand tightly.
‘We can’t find Joe and Millie,’ he said. ‘We’ve looked everywhere. They’ve vanished.’
Part Two
Blood Harvest
18
AS HARRY AND TOM MADE THEIR WAY THROUGH THE HALL, Sinclair Renshaw appeared in front of them.
‘What’s happened, Vicar?’ he asked.
‘The two youngest Fletcher children are missing,’ replied Harry hurriedly.
‘The little girl?’ interrupted Sinclair, speaking softly, in spite of the music and noise in the hall.
‘Yes, and her brother. Their parents have gone home to see if they’ve made their way there. Tom and I are—’
‘One second.’ Sinclair turned to look round the room. ‘Father!’ he called. Then he took hold of Tom’s arm and steered him over to the older man. Tom could hear Harry following, but when he glanced back, he could tell the vicar wasn’t happy. Harry had been told to watch Tom and look outside, and that’s what he wanted to do. It was what Tom wanted to do too – look for Joe and Millie and stay very close to a grown-up he could trust.
‘Father.’ They’d reached the door to the alley. Outside it was too dark for Joe and Millie to be wandering around on their own. ‘The youngest Fletcher child is missing,’ explained Sinclair, still speaking in a low voice. ‘The little girl.’
‘And her brother,’ insisted Harry.
‘Yes, yes,’ said Sinclair. ‘Father, get Jenny and Christiana and search the house.’ Then he lowered his voice even further. ‘Lock the door,’ he added.
Tobias nodded once and then made his way (quite quickly for so old a man) across the hall to where Christiana was still twisting straw. Sinclair turned back to Harry.
‘How long has she – they – been missing? When and where were they last seen?’
Harry didn’t know, of course, so he looked at Tom. Tom didn’t know much either, and it was hard to think when the biggest man he’d ever seen was glaring down at him.
‘In here,’ he said. ‘I was …’ He stopped. He’d been told to keep an eye on his brother and sister while his dad fetched drinks. It was all his fault.
‘What?’ said Harry. ‘It’s important, Tom. What were you doing?’
‘I was under the food table,’ said Tom. ‘Hiding from Jake Knowles.’ He looked up at Harry, hoping he’d understand. Jake and two of his mates had come looking for him, his mum was nowhere in sight and his dad had been at the other side of the room, almost in the garden. Tom had ducked under the big white tablecloth and crawled to the other end. When he’d reached his dad, they’d crossed the room again to find Joe and Millie.
‘We looked all round the room,’ he said. And in the alley outside, and in the garden. They’d just vanished.’