‘You can’t run,’ Zoe pointed out.
‘Yes I can.’ Allie’s voice was defensive. ‘I just ran a few minutes ago.’
‘Not fast,’ Nicole said.
She was right. But Allie was not about to walk away from this. Although she had the uneasy realisation that if they wanted to they could make her go back.
‘Come on, Nicole,’ she pleaded. ‘We have to do this.’
The French girl shook her head. ‘It’s too dangerous.’
‘There are three of us and we’re all trained for this,’ Allie pointed out. ‘What if Jo’s killer is down there? We could take him. I know we could. But if we don’t go now he’ll get away while we’re off running for help. We can’t blow this chance, Nicole. He could kill someone else tonight. Please.’ Her eyes pleaded for them to understand. ‘Let’s do this.’
Nicole and Zoe exchanged a long look. Zoe looked dubious but it was clear the decision would be made by Nicole, the most senior member of the group.
‘OK,’ she said finally, although worry creased her forehead. ‘But we work together and we take no crazy chances. Agreed?’
She spoke to both of them but her eyes were on Allie.
Allie didn’t blink. ‘Agreed.’
Zoe led the way, Allie and Nicole followed, running side by side. When the path narrowed, Allie dropped behind but stayed hard on the French girl’s heels. The run was tiring but she got the feeling they were holding themselves back for her.
Their quiet footsteps, thudding almost in unison, seemed deafening to Allie. The night had grown colder and their breath puffed out in small clouds, illuminated by the moon in the brief seconds before they disappeared.
The churchyard wall appeared first and they flattened themselves against it looking for any sign of movement. But the path that ran alongside it was empty. Soon they were on the move again.
They were close to the stream now. It was swollen from recent rains and the sound of its rushing water disguised any noise they made. They could move faster here – take more chances.
When they reached it, the old churchyard gate hung half open, as if it had been shoved recklessly.
Allie’s breaths shortened.
Turning to catch her eye, Zoe pointed twice at the gate in a jerky motion. The girls gathered around it – Nicole on one side, Allie and Zoe on the other.
Inside, the old gravestones and tombs jostled with the bare trees for space; a low mist covered the ground. To one side, an ancient yew tree towered above the stone wall. Instinctively, Allie’s gaze moved to its long, lower branches where she and Carter had often met when they were first becoming friends.
The gnarled branches were empty now.
Everything was just as Zoe described it. The little chapel’s heavy, arched door gaped open. Inside, candlelight flickered and jumped, moving with a life of its own.
Zoe darted across the churchyard. Moving smooth and straight as an arrow, she stuck to the grass, where her steps were soundless. In seconds she’d disappeared in the shadows. After a moment, though, her hand appeared against the grey stone church wall, waving them in.
Catching Allie’s eye, Nicole tilted her head, signalling her to go first.
Taking a deep breath as if she were about to dive into a pool, Allie ducked low and scuttled across the churchyard. The grass was slippery beneath the thick soles of her shoes. The world was muffled – all she could hear was her own breathing, which deafened her.
It seemed to take for ever to reach the church but it mustn’t have, because as she slid into the shadows next to Zoe the younger girl merely nodded her approval before turning to the gate and making the same gesture again.
Nicole was at their side in seconds. She looked at Zoe enquiringly.
Zoe pointed at the door but Nicole shook her head.
The window then.
Moving as one unit, they stepped carefully down the wall to a stained-glass window. During the day, it filled the little one-room building with multicoloured light. But now the light was moving the other way.
Straightening, Zoe tried to see into the window but she wasn’t tall enough. The window ledge was at least six inches above her head. She dropped down, shaking her head. Nicole tried next, but she was only a little taller than Zoe.
As she crouched down again, she made a gesture of frustration.
They both turned to Allie.
Standing on her toes, clinging with her fingertips to the cold stone of the window ledge, she looked inside. What she saw took her breath away.
All the candles inside were ablaze. Dozens of them. Maybe a hundred. The room was filled with light. Even the heavy, wrought iron candelabras that normally stood near the altar had been moved – they now stood in a semi-circle near the wall to the left of the window. Allie couldn’t see what they were illuminating.
She dropped back down to face the others. Shaking her head she mouthed, ‘I can’t see anyone from here.’