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they left a few clues behind.’ He rubbed his hands together enthusiastically. ‘Can’t wait to get started.’
    Ben watched the car pull away. Gemma gave Ben a wave, but Maria, Growl and Knight ignored him.
    ‘No use standing here sulking,’ Sam said. ‘Why don’t you find Rupam and make a start on this research?’
    ‘Rupam’s probably memorised it all by now.’
    ‘Probably,’ Sam agreed. ‘But he needs you to help him understand what it all means. You’re the one who can work things through, see the connections, make the links.’
    ‘You think so?’
    ‘Course I do. And so does Knight. That’s why he’s asked you to do it.’
    ‘He just wants to keep me busy.’
    Sam shook her head. ‘He doesn’t need to do that. There are plenty of other children here just carrying on with their classes. He could have sent you back to school. Instead he’s given you a job to do. So stop moping about and do it.’
    ‘I still wish I was going with them,’ Ben said, staring down the drive. The car was passing through the gates and disappearing out of sight.
    Sam laughed. ‘A haunted village? I bet they’ll have a really boring time. Probably won’t even see that many ghosts.’
    ‘And how many will I see, stuck here?’ Ben turned to go inside.
    ‘Let’s not get personal,’ Sam told him.
    *
    Gemma felt like a schoolgirl. Knight had told them all to dress in neutral clothes that would not have been too out of place in 1943, so she was in dark trousers and a plain white blouse. Knight had frowned at her trainers but said nothing, so she kept them on.
    The only consolation was that Maria looked just as uncomfortable in similar attire. ‘It’s allright for the men,’ she told Gemma in the back of the car.
    Knight was in one of his usual dark suits, while Growl was in his black cassock complete with clerical collar.
    It took a couple of hours to reach the army checkpoint on the road into Templeton. Knight had a printed pass that Colonel Greene had given him, but the soldiers at the checkpoint were expecting them anyway.
    ‘No one else is to come through, is that clear?’ Knight told the soldier in charge.
    ‘Clear as a bell, sir. Colonel Greene’s already made that quite plain. No one in or out till this is sorted, unless they have his personal permission.’
    ‘How far is it to the village from here?’ Growl asked, leaning across.
    ‘Four miles, near enough.’
    Growl nodded. ‘Just the distance for a brisk walk in the spring sunshine, don’t you think?’
    ‘A walk?’ Gemma said.
    ‘Four miles?’ Maria added. ‘You’ve got to be kidding!’
    ‘I don’t want to take anything into Templeton that isn’t from the right time period, when the village was evacuated,’ Knight said. ‘Growl’s correct. We’llget a bit closer, though, and then leave the car.’ He turned in his seat to look at Maria. ‘You’re not wearing high heels, I hope?’
    ‘What if I am?’
    ‘Bad luck.’
    ‘Good job I’m not, then.’
    *
    Only Knight was oblivious to the ghosts. He could have watched them on the screen of his mobile phone, but for the moment he seemed to have chosen not to.
    Growl could sense them – Gemma knew that from the way he became quiet and surly. His usual avuncular character was hidden as he grew more businesslike and serious. If – when – they came across stronger spirits than those walking silently along the lane out of the village, Growl’s temper would flare and at moments like those it was best to avoid him.
    Maria could see them, of course. But Gemma guessed that the pale, ethereal figures she herself saw were even less substantial to Maria. She was eighteen now and with every passing month the older girl’s powers seemed to fade further … Gemma looked forward to the day when she didn’t see the ghosts any more, but it seemed to scare Maria.
    ‘Ah, the church,’ Growl announced.
    The tower was visible between the trees. The top was ragged and the roof was missing. It looked