Kensy and Curtis were on their hands and knees, crawling through the tunnel that led who knew where. It wasn’t your run of the mill cavity. The space was lined with polished timber – very extravagant, but that summed up most of Alexandria. The mansion was one of those stately homes that the public would be more than happy to pay handsomely to take a look inside, and the gardens were stunning too.

‘We need to turn off the torches and see if there’s any light coming in,’ Kensy whispered.

‘Okay,’ Curtis replied.

Given they had no idea where they were or who else could be listening, Kensy wasn’t keen to risk alerting anyone to their presence. She could see that Tippie was on the move, but it was difficult to keep a constant eye on the tracker while they were crawling.

A second later, the pair was plunged into a darkness so black they couldn’t see their hands in front of their faces. After a minute or so, as their eyes adjusted to the lack of light, they saw something. A dull glow coming from further ahead.

They followed the tunnel as it headed upwards. It was getting harder to push themselves along. Then it levelled out again for a section.

‘Are you okay?’ Kensy breathed.

‘I’m fine,’ Curtis whispered. ‘The dark’s never worried me. But this tunnel is really weird. I wonder why it was built.’

‘Who knows?’ Kensy said. ‘But we’d better keep going.’

She began to crawl but stopped a few seconds later. Unfortunately, she didn’t tell Curtis and the boy’s head speared into her rear end.

‘Watch it!’ Kensy yelped.

‘Sorry, sorry,’ Curtis mouthed. ‘I didn’t see you.’

‘Really? So I don’t have a bum the size of an elephant like Max is always telling me?’ the girl quipped quietly.

‘Um, no,’ he replied. ‘Not at all.’

‘Thanks, Curtis,’ Kensy said. ‘You’re good for my self-esteem, you know.’

As the pair continued their crawl, the light was gradually getting brighter. But just as the tunnel had gone up, it was now starting to go down. Soon the children were sliding. Kensy pushed her legs out as hard as she could and used her hands to grip the sides of the tunnel. Curtis was doing the same thing behind her.

‘This is impossible,’ Kensy hissed.

Then there was something beyond the walls.

Voices.

‘Can you hear that?’ she asked.

Curtis sat as still as he could and listened hard.

‘It’s a woman,’ the boy said. ‘And there’s someone else too.’

Kensy was certain the woman’s voice belonged to Tippie, but she wasn’t familiar with the man’s.

Ahead, the children could see a panel where the light was seeping through. They couldn’t risk sliding towards it. Kensy peered hard and realised that they were on the other side of an ornately carved feature wall in the billiard room – the creepy one with the ancient trophy heads that Kensy wished her grandmother would do away with.

‘Honestly, he had one job,’ Tippie said. ‘And he couldn’t even get that right. You know what you have to do.’

Kensy wished she could get closer, but she didn’t dare move in case she lost her grip.

‘What about the children?’ he asked.

‘Actually, they did me a favour, coming to Alexandria,’ Tippie said. ‘They’ve played right into my hands. We can transport the other two after we head back to London. I want them to be together when we kill them. I’m not completely lacking in compassion, and at least they’ll be close to family.’

Kensy inhaled sharply. They had to get out of there and find help.

Curtis’s eyes widened. He could feel his leg beginning to cramp. The boy did his best to ignore the pain, but it was getting worse. Kensy’s palms were sweating.

‘Do you trust Shugs?’ the man said.

‘He took my gift. He knows the consequences if he goes against me,’ Tippie said.

‘Your gift?’ the man said. There was a hard edge to his voice.

‘I mean our gift. Sorry, I don’t think sometimes,’ she said.

‘And your husband is fine with all of this?’ he said.

‘Of course. He’s our greatest fan.’

Kensy’s mind was racing – the man Tippie was speaking to had to be Lawrence MacGregor. She was almost sure of it, even though she couldn’t get a proper look at him through the panel. And what was Tippie talking about? A gift? What had she given Shugs?

‘So you want me to stay?’ the man asked.

‘Yes,’ Tippie said. ‘Rod will be back in the chopper soon. That’ll be much faster than driving.’

‘And what are we going to do with Kensy and Curtis?’ he asked.

‘I’m meeting them in that ghastly front room in fifteen minutes,’ Tippie said. ‘I’ll send you a message when I need you.’

‘Fine. I might go and make some tea then,’ he said.

Make tea! Kensy wondered how many times he’d murdered people before. He was certainly very casual about everything. Maybe he should take a relaxing bath and wash his hair too.

‘No. I want you to go and find Shugs – let him know that we’re not happy,’ Tippie said.

‘How not happy are we?’ he asked. There was a menacing tone in his voice.

‘Not quite Mrs Thornthwaite unhappy, but you get the idea,’ she said. ‘And don’t dither.’

Kensy stifled a gasp. Curtis could feel his heart beating madly.

They were listening to the man’s footsteps on the timber floor when Kensy’s phone began to ring. She had it on silent, but the buzzing was loud.

The footsteps stopped. ‘What was that?’

‘It’s coming from over there,’ Tippie said.

Kensy reached into her pocket, forgetting that she needed both arms out to hold on. Suddenly she was moving and couldn’t stop. The polished timber tunnel was like a slide, propelling her towards the timber screen.

‘Kensy!’ Curtis shouted. He reached out to grab her and lost his grip too.

Kensy catapulted through the screen onto the parquet floor. Before she knew what was happening, the man was on her. He stabbed her in the neck.

For a moment, Curtis thought he could stop his own slide, but it was no use – seconds later he sprawled out behind her. The man was fast. A sharp prick was all Curtis felt, and then nothing.