Detective Inspector Matthew Venn walked along the track from his house, and onto the beach.
The tide was low and the sand seemed to stretch almost to the opposite bank of the estuary.
From his kitchen window, hed seen two young girls standing in the middle distance.
The River Taw ran just below his house.
This wasnt a tourist beach, and it wasnt the time of year for children to be playing.
Matthew had met few children.
These girls looked younger and this was a school day.
The children werent dressed for the beach.
Both wore plaid skirts, old-fashioned, long grey socks, blazers and patent leather shoes.
A school uniform that he didnt recognize.
He looked all the way along the beach, but saw no adults.
Representing isolation or loneliness.
Hed pulled on wellington boots before setting out.
His work shoes were of good quality and he didnt want to ruin them.
When he was ten metres away, the children did turn and they stared at him.
Their knees were red, their eyes watery with the cold, and wary.
They seemed a little older than hed first thought.
Hello, he said.
He wished Jonathan were here.
Jonathan ran clubs for kids in the arts centre he managed.
Drama workshops and pottery sessions.
He would know how best to deal with this pair.
What are you doing here?
The older girl asked the question.
No accent, but that didnt mean they werent local.
Shouldnt we be here?
No, its not private.
He found her stare disconcerting.
You have every right to be here.
Why are you on your own?
Where are your parents?
The girls looked at each other.
We dont know, the younger child said.
He thought she seemed on the verge of tears and he couldnt bear the thought of her crying.
And theres only our mother at home now.
The older childs voice was firm, reproving.
He hesitated for a moment.
He looked at his phone.
Why dont we go indoors?
Thats my house over there, he said, pointing.
Itll be warmer there and we can find out whats happened to them.
We know not to go anywhere with strangers.
But I happen to be a stranger whos a police officer.
He fished in his jacket pocket for a warrant card and was relieved when he found it.
He showed it to the older girl.
She took it in her hand and studied it carefully.
Lets get you warmed up.
I could make some hot chocolate.
There was a moments hesitation and then they nodded in tandem.
Inside the house, the two girls thawed out, literally and metaphorically.
Their names were Olivia and Imogen Sellers, and they were thirteen and nine respectively.
They lived in the smartest street in Barnstaple.
Their mother was called Elizabeth.
There was no mention of their father.
They sat at the kitchen table, with mugs of hot chocolate in front of them.
Even the elder girl had a faint, milky moustache after drinking a little.
So, tell me how you came to be on the beach this morning?
We were on our way to school.
Mummy said wed do better at a girls school.
She said were very lucky to be there.
And where is the school?
Matthew had never heard of it, but then why should he have done?
Imogen stared at him with astonishment.
It seemed that the school was the centre of her world.
Shed never drive while she was using her mobile.
Then she drove us here to the beach.
She left us in the car and said shed only be five minutes.
But she was gone ages, so we went down onto the sand to look for her.
In case anything had happened to her.
From the tone of the girls voice, Matthew thought perhaps things had happened to mummy in the past.
Perhaps we should look for the car then, he said.
In case shes back there and waiting for you.
We did try, Olivia said, but we couldnt find it so we came back to the beach.
Mummy loves the beach.
Imogen looked up at him.
The chocolate moustache gave the younger girl the look of an animal with fur or whiskers.
A dormouse with big grey eyes.
We thought shed be there.
Do either of you have a mobile?
The red knees and the eyes streaming in the icy air had deeply affected him.
Besides, he was a detective, and in his work, he came across dreadful sights.
The previous spring thered been a body here on Crow Point, where the rivers met the sea.
The girls shook their heads.
Mummy doesnt approve of screens at school.
He came to a decision.
Why dont you stay here?
No point everyone getting cold.
Ill have a quick look and come back to let you know whats going on.
He looked at them.
Anxious, but perhaps not anxious enough.
Maybe it wasnt unusual for mummy suddenly to disappear.
This time they nodded their agreement.
Can you describe your mothers car?
Again, it was Olivia who answered.
Its a black Golf.
Daddy took the Lexus, Imogen said.
Olivia shot her a look of warning.
Matthew thought this family was full of secrets.
+++
Outside, the sun was stronger, but it felt no warmer.
He could see how the girls might have missed it.
They had left the doors unlocked when theyd gone out looking for their mother and he looked inside.
No sign of the missing Elizabeth Sellers.
