The Triumph of Katie Byrne. Barbara Taylor Bradford

And where?’

      ‘I don’t know. But what we do know is that there was an intruder, or intruders, because things have been moved around, disrupted in there.’ She half turned, nodded her head at the barn. ‘Carly and Denise might not be here at all, you know. They could be far away by now. If they’ve been…taken. Kidnapped.’

      ‘Jaysus, what’re you saying, Katie?’ Niall muttered, sounding exactly like Grandfather Sean, whom he loved and emulated. ‘Why would anyone take Denise and Carly? What are you getting at?’

      ‘There’re a lot of weirdos around, you know that as well as I do. Crazed druggies. Sex fiends. Whackos. Serial killers.’

      Niall gaped at her, obviously startled by her words; a mixture of concern and fear washed across his face. ‘Let’s not waste any more time. We’ll look at the back of the barn first.’ As he spoke he hurried her towards the stands of trees that shaded the ramshackle building on its north side.

      Katie said, ‘They might have made for Ted Matthews’s house, Niall.’

      ‘Yeah, that’s a possibility.’

      Together they walked around the back of the barn, waving their flashlights from side to side, directing the beams of light at the trees and bushes, calling, ‘Carly! Denise!’

      No one answered and there was nothing untoward to be seen. No sign of trampled grass, broken twigs, smashed bushes or footprints in the earth. And certainly there was no sign of the girls.

      At one moment, Niall paused, swung Katie to face him. He stared at her. ‘We both believe somebody entered the barn. Unexpectedly. Uninvited. Whoever it was either took the girls by force, or frightened them so badly they fled. Correct?’

      Katie nodded. ‘And if they ran out, were really scared, they’d probably go to Ted’s farm. It’s not that close, but it is nearer than our house or their own homes.’

      Niall was puzzled. ‘Why wouldn’t they run up the hill to the highway?’

      ‘No, no, they’d never do that,’ Katie responded quickly, shaking her head. ‘It’s tough running uphill. They probably rushed outside and just ran straight ahead, right into the wood facing the barn door. Once they were through the wood they’d be on flat ground all the way to Ted’s farm. It’s easy to run across fields quickly, they’d be there in no time.’

      ‘You’re right about that, so we’ll search the wood next. It could be that Denise and Carly are hiding in there, afraid to come out. If we don’t find them, we can call Ted from the pay phone on the highway.’

      Katie took hold of her brother’s hand. She was nervous, agitated inside. All of a sudden, a surge of apprehension flooded her and she felt slightly sick. She was certain something had gone wrong after she had left, and she prayed that Carly and Denise were all right, that they were safe.

      Niall gripped her hand firmly as they made their way to the front of the building, where his pickup was parked, and went into the wood opposite. It was not large, but it was densely packed with trees, and very dark. The path through the trees was cut so narrowly it was necessary to walk single file; Niall insisted Katie went ahead of him so that his eyes were on her at all times. He wasn’t prepared to take any chances.

      Once they were moving along the path at a steady pace, Katie called out, ‘Carly! Denise? It’s me, Katie! Are you in here?’

      Niall pitched his voice even louder. ‘Denise? Carly? Where are you?’

      There was no response.

      The two of them kept to the path, waving their flashlights from side to side, peering about in the dim light. Suddenly, Katie stopped and held up her hand. She said quietly, over her shoulder, ‘Did you hear that, Niall?’

      ‘What?’

      ‘A rustling sound just ahead of us.’

      ‘No, I didn’t. It was probably an animal. A deer.’

      Katie’s breath caught in her throat, and she held herself absolutely still as she remembered the dark flash caught on the periphery of her vision earlier that day. Near the rhododendron bushes on the hillside when she was going home. I shouldn’t have left them alone in the barn, I should have made them leave with me. But they often stay late, that’s nothing new. As long as they were at the barn they had each other for company, instead of being at home alone.

      Had there been someone lurking near the rhododendron bushes? She swallowed hard. Her mouth went dry and she wondered if the intruder had been there on the hill this afternoon. If that was so, she had passed very close to him. Or them. She shivered.

      ‘I can hear something now,’ Niall muttered, leaning closer, putting his hand on her shoulder.

      To Katie, the disturbance, whatever it was, seemed much louder, clearer, and it sounded as though somebody was plunging through the undergrowth, charging forward, and in the process rustling leaves and breaking branches. If it was an animal it was a large one.

      ‘Who’s there?’ Niall shouted.

      ‘Carly, Denise, it’s me! And Niall,’ Katie yelled through hands cupped around her mouth.

      No one responded but the noise instantly stopped.

      There were no sounds at all, only silence.

      The two of them did not move for a moment or two. They stood waiting, listening, straining their ears. Nothing moved, not a leaf stirred. The wood was wrapped in total stillness.

      Katie took a deep breath – and a step forward.

      Niall followed her, even more disturbed. But not wishing to alarm Katie further, he murmured reassuringly, ‘It was a deer, honey. Or a stag. Yes, a stag, that’s more like it, and that’s all it was, Katie. An animal.’ Though he spoke confidently, he wasn’t sure he believed his own words.

      Katie certainly didn’t; she had other ideas altogether. Taking several more deep breaths, steadying herself, she stepped out purposefully.

      

      Katie saw Carly first. She was waving her flashlight from side to side when the cold, white beam of light fell across Carly’s body. Her friend was in a small clearing to one side of the path, near a clump of bushes. She was stretched out on her back and lay very still.

      ‘It’s Carly,’ Katie called and ran forward, driven by anxiety, shining the light on her friend’s face. Instantly she recoiled in horror. Carly’s face was covered in so much blood her features were barely visible.

      Katie screamed, called Niall’s name, and remained rooted to the spot, unable to move.

      When Niall reached her she grabbed hold of him and shouted in a very loud, unnatural voice, ‘Carly’s covered in blood. Oh, God! Oh, God! She can’t be dead! Can she? Who’s done this terrible thing to her?’ Katie leaned against her brother and the uncontrollable shaking began. She could barely stand up, thought her legs would buckle, and she pushed her face against his shoulder, wanting to block out Carly’s bloody face.

      Niall levelled his own flashlight on Carly, and he instantly looked away, as sickened and horrified as Katie.

      After a moment, he said quietly, ‘I want to look at Carly more closely. Can you stand on your own, Katie? Let me take you over there, you can rest against the tree. Okay?’

      ‘Okay,’ Katie answered through her sobbing.

      Niall had to move his sister almost bodily, but once he had her leaning against a tree he hurried across the clearing to Carly. The stench of blood assailed him, and he averted his face, gulped air, and somehow managed to hold onto his composure. At last he bent over her, and realized that the blood was coming from her head, oozing out from her hairline, running down over her forehead and cheeks. It suddenly occurred to him there was very little damage, if any, to her face. She had obviously been hit on the head a number of times. Her eyes were closed, but now he noticed a faint pulse in her neck, and she was