‘A littlie?’ Sam asked, concerned, and Ben took a deep breath, knowing it had to be said. Knowing it had to be acknowledged.

‘A six-year-old boy,’ he managed, and took a deep breath to give him strength to say the next few words. ‘A six-year-old boy called Benjy. Lily named him after his father.’

The next few hours passed in a blur. At headquarters the officers listened to Ben’s story-the local doctor’s son was missing, as was her fiancé-a man called Jacques-and they consulted lists.

‘We’re searching for them already,’ the captain told him. ‘Others have reported them missing. Jacques is the island’s financial administrator. His bungalow’s in the compound and he hasn’t been seen since the uprising. He’s either a hostage or dead. And Dr Lily told us about the little boy. He was sent to the beach at the first sign of trouble but he would have found his great-aunt dead and everyone gone. Maybe he was forcibly taken to the compound. Or more likely…’ He didn’t need to complete the sentence. ‘I’ve pulled the searchers back now. We’ll search again in the morning.’

‘Why not now?’

‘You know why,’ the captain said patiently. ‘There might still be armed men in hiding, and I’ll not risk our team being picked off. If I knew for sure the kid was there and alive then I’d risk it, but I know no such thing and neither do you.’ His voice softened. ‘Hell, Ben, you know the rules. Is this doctor putting pressure on you?’

‘She’s an old friend,’ Ben said heavily. ‘And she’s been a hero here. In the last two days she’s performed medicine that’d put us to shame.’

‘We’ll comb the forest again at first light,’ the captain promised. ‘I’ll double the contingent to that area. I can’t promise more than that.’

‘And the hostage situation?’

‘There’s no communication,’ the captain said grimly. ‘So we sit and wait for them to make the first move. The last thing we need is another bloodbath.’