Rain thought Marcus’s friends were as lame as he was, but a night out was a night out. And besides, she’d promised Katie and the girls that by the end of the week she’d have some gossip to report.

‘What was up with your mate Alex just now?’ Rain asked Marcus, as they walked away from the village back to the Old Stables. ‘He was acting really stupid. And what’s that disgusting smell?’

‘Alex is OK. He was just being awkward,’ Marcus said, laughing. ‘He’s not had much experience around girls.’

Rain choked on her Coke, nearly spitting it down her top. He’d been a complete idiot. But she also kind of understood, though would never say. ‘I don’t suppose he’s had much chance living here.’ She gestured around, spreading her arms wide. ‘I mean, look at it.’

To their right, the fields dipped down towards the coast. Further along they could see the white blocks of a caravan park where Rain imagined old people with little dogs went for their holidays. ‘There’s fuck all here.’

‘You’re very opinionated, aren’t you?’

Rain stopped. ‘What?’ She forced an indignant laugh, even though his comment cut deep.

‘All you’ve done is criticise where I live and moan about my mates.’

‘I can’t believe I agreed to come on this stupid holiday.’

‘My mum went to a lot of trouble to make this week nice for everyone. Show a bit of respect.’ Marcus pulled a packet of cigarettes from his pocket. ‘Want one?’

Rain’s eyes lit up. It was the first decent thing he’d done. She decided to take it as a kind of peace offering. She was stuck with him for a few days, after all. ‘Does Mummy know you smoke?’ She couldn’t help it. Boys like him needed teaching a lesson. ‘No weed?’

Marcus stared at her, narrowing his eyes. ‘I could get some,’ he said, swallowing hard and lighting their cigarettes.

‘So, what’s all this shit with the oldies getting together about anyway?’ Rain asked, as they started off again. She felt comforted by the first draw of smoke. The lane wound between the fields as if it was never going to end.

‘Granddad’s not well. He’s got Alzheimer’s.’ Marcus drew on the cigarette, trying to stifle a cough. ‘Mum wanted to get everyone together, to make it feel like the old days. Apparently, it might help him remember stuff.’

‘Don’t see how it would.’

‘Granddad was like a second father to her friends when they were kids. She thinks it’ll help.’ He flicked his ash. ‘Didn’t your dad want to come with you?’

Rain tensed. He might as well have hit her, and her instinct was to hit him back. She clenched her teeth, blinked the tears from her eyes. ‘It’s the smoke,’ she said, running her finger beneath her lashes. ‘I don’t see my dad much,’ she added, hoping it would shut him up.

‘Anyway, turns out Nan’s going to sell the farm and Mum’s all weirded out because they’ve been there, like, forever.’

Rain hoped the stupid place would burn down with everyone in it. She was so angry, her chest felt as though it had a strap around it. ‘Didn’t some kid get murdered there?’ Maggie had once mentioned something about it. ‘Surely that’s the real reason they’re all here, to find out which one of them did it?’

‘That kid,’ Marcus said, kicking the ground, ‘was Mum’s little sister. And she wasn’t murdered. She went missing.’

Rain gave a little smile, pleased she’d got to him. ‘Was it, like, a really big deal and stuff?’

‘Of course it was a big deal. It would be like Amy going missing.’

Rain had barely met his younger sister and wouldn’t particularly care if she did disappear, but it made her think. ‘That’s creepy. Did they find a body and a weapon, you know, like on CSI and stuff?’

‘It’s not some fucking TV show, for God’s sake. It was real life. My mum’s life. And no, they never found her body. No one knows what happened to her.’

‘But you didn’t know the dead kid, right?’

‘Of course not. It happened way before I was born. But Mum’s told me all about her. She was only thirteen but would be in her thirties now. And they don’t really know if she’s dead.’

Rain felt herself getting excited as she drew a last lungful of smoke, tossing her butt into the hedge. ‘That’s so cool,’ she said. ‘A real-life mystery.’

‘For fuck’s sake, Rain, just shut up, will you? And don’t mention it in front of my mum, right?’ Marcus muttered something under his breath, also chucking his cigarette butt into the hedge.

‘Do you think it was your mum’s fault, then?’ she said, pausing. ‘That’s what my mum said. Or worse, maybe your mum did it. Was she jealous of her kid sister?’

Marcus clenched his fists down the side of his legs. ‘Don’t be stupid. Mum was on the beach with her friends, looking after Lenni. She let her go off to buy an ice cream, but she never came back. Clear now?’

Rain cocked her head slightly. ‘So it really was your mum’s fault? She must feel terrible.’ Rain raised her eyebrows. ‘Or be a really good liar.’ For a second she wondered if she’d gone too far. ‘Going to get an ice cream aged thirteen isn’t exactly hardcore, is it? I roamed free around London when I was ten.’

Marcus was silent.

‘Grown-ups are pretty stupid though. They think that wallowing in self-pity for long enough makes everything better. They never consider actually getting stuff right in the first place.’

‘Lenni wasn’t like normal kids, apparently,’ Marcus went on, not sounding quite so angry.

‘What was wrong with her?’

Marcus took out another couple of cigarettes. He lit them both and passed one over. ‘She was just kind of “not right” apparently…’ He inhaled deeply. ‘My grandparents were really protective of her because of that.’

‘You mean, like, she was special needs?’ Rain didn’t really get it. She was just glad Marcus was being generous with his fags.

‘Yeah, exactly. And Mum said she was too trusting, couldn’t spot danger. She says these days she’d have got a diagnosis, but back then they wrapped her up in cotton wool instead. They were worried something bad would happen.’

‘Ironic,’ Rain said with a dry laugh. ‘Maggie doesn’t give a shit where I am. All she cares about is screwing money out of my father to pay for my boarding school so I’m out of her face.’

‘They’re divorced?’

‘Never married.’ Rain took a breath. She didn’t normally talk about this, let alone to imbecile boys. ‘My dad is, like, famous and everything. He’s a politician and always on the news. He’s got his own family. Maggie used to work for him in some crappy secretary job and so here I am. It’s all dirty keep-quiet shit.’ Rain felt a glimmer of relief. She’d never told anyone before.

‘Sorry to hear that,’ Marcus said. She reckoned he meant it.

Rain felt the tears again, so she sucked hard on the second cigarette. ‘So,’ she continued, composing herself. ‘This kid-sister-aunty of yours, why’s she got a boy’s name?’ Rain wanted all the details, though she’d already planned on googling the story later.

‘Lenni is short for Eleanor. It’s a bit weird.’

Rain laughed. ‘I’m queen of weird names. Maggie must have been high when she chose mine.’

‘Your mum’s cool.’ Marcus scuffed the ground as he walked. ‘Why don’t you call her “Mum”?’

Rain shrugged. ‘To piss her off, I guess.’ Maggie was always trying to sling a rope between them, connect with her in some way. But she never quite reached her, and Rain wasn’t sure she’d grab it even if she did.

Up ahead there was a cluster of barns and houses. They were nearly back at the farm and she hadn’t got half as much of this dead kid story out of Marcus as she wanted. ‘Let’s stop here and watch the sheep for a bit,’ she said, going into a gateway and leaning on the wooden bars. The skinny shorn creatures stared at them, chewing, looking dumb. ‘Baa-aaaa,’ she called out. They just carried on chewing.

Marcus leant next to her, glancing at her. She looked back – making sure she lingered on his eyes, moving her gaze slowly down to his lips. A snog would delay their return, but she didn’t want to make the first move. What if he backed off? Besides, she had the whole week. Then her heart sank at the thought of seven days in this place. She needed some excitement.

Her phone vibrated in her back pocket, breaking the moment. ‘Katie,’ she said. ‘I can’t hear you, the signal’s crap.’ She stepped away from the gateway, staring at her phone. ‘Can you hear me now?’ she asked. ‘Good. No, I haven’t yet,’ she whispered, unable to help the giggle. ‘How’s France? Oh great. That’s just what I want to hear while I’m stuck here. Guess what I can see right now?’ She stole a look at Marcus. She knew he was listening. ‘Fucking sheep. All I can see is a hundred dozy fucking sheep.’

Marcus spread his arms wide, making a clown-like face. ‘Yeah, and don’t ask what else I can see,’ she continued. He had an OK body, but he was still an idiot. ‘Message ya soon, babe. Love you too.’ She went back to the gate. ‘My best friend is in Cannes for the weekend.’ She rested her head on the gate, letting out a long, low moan. One of the sheep bleated a reply.

‘So, this Lenni kid,’ Rain said. ‘They didn’t find anything like a limb or a head washed up on the beach, then?’

‘You’re sick.’ Marcus stared at her. ‘Mum said the only things found were her ice cream cone, some silver charm thing and a pair of shorts.’

‘Her shorts?’

Marcus nodded.

‘Were they all ripped and bloody?’

‘Fuck’s sake, Rain, I didn’t ask. Mum gets upset.’

‘If I had some amazing family secret like this, everyone would know about it.’ Rain felt the blush swoop from her cheeks down to her chest.

‘And your mum shagging a famous married politician isn’t an amazing secret?’ He laughed. ‘Anyway, Mum prefers we don’t talk about it. She says that we can discuss it with her and Dad but no one else.’

‘So why are you telling me?’ She waited but he didn’t reply. ‘That smacks of guilt, if you ask me.’ A few months ago, she’d had a fascination with stuff like this. Maggie had left a book lying around about old murder cases, detailing how the killers were caught decades later because of forensic advances. She had no idea why her mum was reading it, but Rain had picked it up, hooked from the first page, and gone on to read others like it. ‘Maybe that’s why your mum doesn’t want you telling anyone.’

‘You’re mental, do you know that?’

‘No, I’m serious. Think about it, Marcus.’ She brushed her hair slowly off her face. ‘A hot summer’s day, a bunch of teenagers hanging out and probably getting up to no good, then the little kid they’re supposed to be looking after just vanishes. I bet they’re all in cahoots to keep quiet.’ Rain tipped her head sideways. ‘Did the police question them all?’

‘I guess,’ Marcus said. ‘You’d have to ask Mum.’ He frowned. ‘But don’t, OK?’

Rain gave him a look.

‘It’s why Mum’s not happy about Nan selling the farm,’ Marcus went on. Rain knew she had a knack of getting people to open up, say or do whatever she wanted. It was something she’d learnt as a little girl, a bonus of Maggie’s guilt. ‘They once made a pact that someone would always be at the farm in case she came back.’

‘I once read something about a mother who made a shrine to her missing son. She lit candles every day, bought him presents and toys, just like he was still there. She became so obsessed, she didn’t have a life of her own. She went all weird and twisted until it was like she was dead too.’

‘Mum’s not like that. She’s pretty normal.’ He laughed. ‘As normal as mums can be.’

‘You say that.’

‘It’s true. She’s got a good job, she loves Dad, and Nan and Granddad are just regular old folk.’

Rain had to admit that she quite envied Marcus living near his grandparents. She’d never known hers – they’d long since died – and of course access to her father’s family was strictly forbidden.

‘Anyway, I reckon that’s what all this shit’s about,’ Rain said. ‘This reunion.’ She folded her arms across her chest, drawing Marcus’s eyes to it.

‘C’mon, let’s get back,’ he said, walking off down the lane, this time at a much brisker pace.