"What about his mum?"

"She's with his dad," Hannah said softly, her brows furrowed. "So, Morgan really didn't have anyone until Daisy offered to take him in. I mean, he would have had George to take care of him but he's more like an uncle than anything else. Morgan's sister is at Bournemouth University right now, so Daisy's was the best option."

"Who's George" I remarked, trying to put the pieces together.

"George is their butler. He takes care of the house while they're all away. He's been with the family since Morgan was born," Mira piped in. "They're very rich but you wouldn't guess it from Morgan. He's so down to earth. Well, he'd have to be with friends like us! Me in my terrace house and Hannah in her flat!"

I couldn't help but think that Morgan was sounding nicer as our talk continued. "So do you see Morgan often" I asked.

"All the time. We come here quite a lot, as a group, you know"

"We have the same circle of friends," Hannah clarified. "Morgan's great, you'll like him a lot. He's very much like you, you know."

"In what way"

"Well, rumour has it that you're a fitness junkie," Mira laughed, joining in with Hannah's enthusiasm. "He is too, and he's a nice guy, we've known him a long time. Like I said, he's a lot like you."

"Really," I chuckled sarcastically at her choice of words, looking at both Mira and Hannah.

"Rose, you've always had a strong personality, even when we were kids, you don't stand for any messing around, and you call it as it is. You always have done, and it's why I liked you when we first met. You were always the leader of our little group. Morgan would be good for you because you're both very similar people."

"I don't like where this conversation is going," I laughed. "I've just got here and getting a boyfriend is not on my agenda!"

"Okay, if you say so," Mira said. "But there are loads of girls who are really jealous of you, right now."

"Loads of girls? I don't know anybody."

"Believe me, everyone knows about you, whether they've met you or not," Hannah remarked. "Daisy has been telling everyone about you coming to stay. She knows most of the town, you know."

I lay back on the grass feeling the sun on my face. "Great," I muttered.

"Which reminds me, next week there's a party at the woods near Old Mad Cole's place, but we can talk about that later," Mira said.

I remembered that name.

"What happened to Old Mad Cole?" I asked curiously. "Do you remember when Mira fell in the brook and he found us and carried Mira home. We'd all thought he was nutty as a fruit cake."

"He was mad, that's for sure. But we never knew what happened to him or his farm?" Hannah said.

"What do you mean?"

I saw a look pass between the two girls almost as if they were wary about the conversation.

"I saw that, tell me."

"Old Mad Cole went missing six months ago," Mira said quietly. "No one knows what happened or where he went. He just vanished."

"And three months ago, the Local Council took over his farm and flattened it," Hannah added. "There's an old people's home being built on the land now."

"No!"

The quiet little man that was Old Mad Cole had got the nickname from constantly chasing chickens around his yard and shouting at anyone who dared to trespass on his land. He had a toothless grin and was often seen carrying a bottle of spirits. Along with string holding up his trousers and the threadbare brown jacket he always wore (we all guessed that it had never been washed) he had suited the name though no one could remember who had invented it. But he had been decent to us and was not inclined to bother or harm anyone, he kept to himself.

"The police didn't find any evidence or anything?"

"Nothing," Hannah added. "They searched for days and weeks but no one came forward with any information, and the house was so dirty and falling apart inside and out, it was difficult to glean any clues. The police gave up. I still think someone somewhere knows something but they're not going to come forward now."

Mira continued. "And he wasn't the first. There were more disappearances, but never any information that the Police could find. The authorities are baffled. We all have to be careful around here. I'm surprised Daisy hadn't told you."

So there were more disappearances than just Daisy's friend. That's what she had been discussing when I overheard them.

"In the meantime, you've just got here!" Hannah threw a warning glance at Mira. "How do you fancy going into town now? Do you have any plans? There's a cool coffee shop that we all hang out at, called The Catchers Call. Well, it's not great but at least we can sit and chat for as long as we want without being hassled to vacate the table. We can give you the low down on everyone in town!"

"Great idea, I so need to get out of this house," I said jumping up quickly. "I'll just get my jacket, and put some earrings in."

"Do you still get the headaches, Rose?" Mira asked quietly.

"How on earth did you remember that?" I questioned. I had forgotten that they would know about my one ailment. I must have suffered when I was smaller but I couldn't remember.

"You would sometimes be out for days with those headaches," Hannah added. "I never knew anyone so young with them; we must have been eight or nine. They were like the modern day migraine for you. We'd visit but your mum would tell us to come back another day."

"I still remember your dad finding that metal stuff in.....where was it? South America somewhere?" Mira said.

"Peru," I answered shell shocked that they had even remembered all of this.

"That's it," Mira continued. "And he made you earrings and hair bands and they seemed to cure your headaches instantly. It was so strange that it had no effect on anyone else when they tried it out."

I stared at them both, smiling happily.

"What?" Hannah said surprised.

"I am so glad you're here, and I'm here! And we have the whole summer together!" I grabbed them both into a bear hug and we all fell to the floor laughing.

I had to sit on the back of Hannah's moped all the way into Warminster town. The spare helmet she always kept with her felt heavy on my head, and for a moment I was mildly claustrophobic.

Once we got into town we made for the main car park, where Daisy and I had parked. Hannah held the bike steady as I got off. The ride had not been comfortable and she laughed as I shook my dead legs and jumped around trying to get circulation back into my bottom. The three of us walked along a small alleyway which led to the centre of town.

Five minutes later we were gathered around a central table in the Cafe ordering coffees and orange juices. The Catchers Call was a small coffee shop in a quieter area of town, along one of the side-streets. Due to the school holidays the place was almost full, teenagers mostly, and every pair of eyes had been staring at me as we had walked in, followed by low whispers. This would start the rumour mills whirring, I thought.

Soon everyone else in the cafe seemed to be getting on with their own conversations, leaving us to get to know one another.

"Is your brother still around, Mira?" I asked. I knew that they had been close. Jason was the same age as Amy and we had hung out together when we were little.

"Yes, he's not at home any more, he lives with some guys that hang around with Aiden Deverill. He still works in town so I see him a lot," Mira answered.

"Oh, you guys were close; did you miss him when he left home?"

"Like you wouldn't believe. But I actually see more of him now, he always pops back to bring his washing!" Mira joked. "Plus, Mum is always cooking him food parcels. I think she's worried that he'll starve living with a bunch of boys."

"So, do you know most people in here?" I whispered to them both.

"They're mostly from our school, some go to the private school on the other side of town but we get to meet them at the club. You'll get to know people soon, if that's what you're worried about," Hannah whispered back.

Mira had lived in Warminster for most of her life, so it had not been surprising the number of people she had greeted on our entrance. It was a small town after all. Hannah appeared to be popular too, and I was pleased that throughout her unhappy childhood she had gained confidence in herself.

Above all this, I was still unnerved by our conversation earlier regarding the disappearance of Old Mad Cole and the others. Daisy's friend Maggie had a missing husband too, though it didn't feel right to discuss it with the girls yet. I had no idea why but while I found the happenings eerie I was interested to find out more of the story.

"Hannah, earlier you were talking about the disappearances," I asked quietly, not wanting to draw any unwanted attention. "Were there any links to the missing people? What do the Police say?"

Hannah looked awkward for a minute, and then slowly leaned forward.

"Firstly, be careful what you say, you don't know who could be listening."

I ducked my head, even more intrigued now, and after glancing around the coffee shop, we all leaned forward so she could continue.

"This is only my side, but my dad talks sometimes. He brings news back from the base. It's just men working in the engineering department, they're all civilians, but they all talk about it there. They're worse than old women!" she smiled then carried on. "It must have been about three years ago when the first weird happening occurred.

Agatha Millard was elderly and lived on her own quietly. No one really knew that much about her because she kept to herself. Daisy knew her well, but Daisy keeps her own counsel as you know. Aidan Deverill's grandfather used to look after the garden and do odd jobs around the house; he didn't see anything strange either."

"Who's Aidan Deverill?" I had heard the name somewhere before.

"Look behind you, two tables to the left, but don't make it look like you're staring at him," said Mira nervously whispering.

I turned and looked at the coffee counter, and then twisted slightly to look at the table of people. I turned back; I hadn't picked out which one she had meant.

"He has black hair, blue eyes with a black shirt. He's the one I mean," Mira asked.

I turned back for a proper look this time.

Four older boys were occupying the table next to the window, and in the corner the dark haired one stared at me. The eyes were familiar somehow and his face was pleasant, good looking even. I was sure I'd seen him somewhere before but I couldn't place him. His thick dark hair was long, just above his shoulders. We locked eyes for a second, I blushed, and turned back quickly in my chair, and I wasn't quick enough to miss a smile from him.

The hairs on my arms stood up as I flushed, with faint embarrassment. My heart began to gallop like a pack of gazelles. Was it me or was it suddenly hot in here?

Hannah elbowed Mira who whispered "Are you all right? You've gone pink!"

"Shut up!" I quickly mouthed back to them both. I shut my eyes feeling mildly stupid but I could still see his gaze when I closed them.

"So, do you like him?" Hannah said quietly, not letting Mira continue.

"What's not to like?" I said calmly. "I'm a girl and he's gorgeous. But he wouldn't be interested in me."

"Are you kidding?" Mira sharply whispered. "Have you looked in the mirror lately? You're the prettiest girl in the room."

"No, I'm not, you are!" I threw back at her. "Get on with the story before I get really embarrassed!" I whispered, hoping the conversation would help my redness go away.

"Okay, well it was Aidan Deverill that found the body," returned Mira, obligingly.

- Chapter FOUR -.

"Body?" I gulped.

"Yes, Miss Millard's body was on the top of Arn Hill, the one next to yours near the Golf course. But get this. The lady could barely walk, she used a frame around the house," said Mira, unconsciously waving her hands around our small area. "And there she was, in her nightdress, lying down perfectly straight on the top of Arn Hill, with her arms crossed over her chest. It was Aidan that found her at about six o'clock that morning. She hadn't been harmed in any way. She was just lying there, dead."

"Well, do they know how she got there? Did his grandfather know anything?"

"There were no footprints, and that hill can get pretty muddy, especially after the rain. It's almost as if she flew, or was very carefully placed. Whoever it was knew what they were doing. The Police didn't have any evidence, couldn't even find a footprint, and so there was no case. It just got filed as a cold case. Big Ben Deverill was so distressed by the whole thing. He had done odd jobs for Agatha for, must be, twenty or thirty years in his spare time. It took him a long time to get over it. My dad thinks Ben secretly thought the house would go to him in Agatha's will, because she had no relatives. The house was willed to Daisy in the end."

"Okay, I feel spooked, so that's Agatha Millard and Old Mad Cole," I said abruptly, as a shiver went down my spine. "What did Daisy do with the Millard house, did she sell it?"

"Yes," Hannah took up the conversation. "But here's what's weird. No one knew who bought it from Daisy. Not even Daisy. It was all completed through solicitors and the name of the new owner was withheld. Unless you want to break into the Solicitors to find out, we'll never know."

"That's really weird," I uttered. "What do the newspapers say? There must be a theory."

"My dad reads the newspaper every week and not a word has been printed," Mira whispered thoughtfully. "He's checked and checked. It's as though there's a media blackout on the subject."

"Or maybe they just don't want to alarm anybody," Hannah added. "You know what people are like around here. One sniff of bad news and everyone knows about it. That's what you get for living in a small town."

"But we're not just a small town though are we," Mira said. "We're a small town in the middle of nowhere, on the edge of Salisbury Plain which is massive, by the way. With an army base adjoining us and lord knows what they keep in those hangers and warehouses. We're just a bunch of 'Hicks' living in 'Hicksville!' And as they say 'What happens in Warminster stays in Warminster'."

I shuddered as Mira said the last part. But everyone had the internet now. It wasn't like the 1940's where we would have been cut off from all civilisations.

I suddenly had a thought.

"You said Aidan found the old lady?"

"Yes."

"What was he doing on Arn Hill at six in the morning, in the first place?" I knew as soon as I spoke that I should have stayed quiet but I couldn't stop myself. My forwardness won over with some nagging thought that abruptly irritated my brain, but I couldn't get what the nagging thought was.

"Apparently, he was out walking his neighbour's dog. But, Rose. Keep it to yourself. Aiden gets very touchy about the subject, and you don't want to get on his bad side."

"Who am I going to tell? You two are the only people I know, apart from Daisy!" I laughed with them, and the serious moment was gone.

The conversation quickly changed onto other topics. I was keen to learn about whom else would be in my year at school. Soon Mira was pointing out others from school; Debbie from the farm nearest to Daisy's house, and Sean who ran a Film club at school and a few came over to say hello. They seemed nice but I didn't even try to remember all the names of the others I met. My memory was good but not that good and I was sure that they would remember mine anyway. Aiden Deverill didn't come over to introduce himself.

I stole another look at him quickly. He was in a deep discussion with his three friends, and he didn't notice this time.

"So, does Aiden Deverill know who I am?" I whispered.

"Oh yeah," said Hannah nodding.

"Ben Deverill and Daisy are old friends. He's Governor of the Town Council and Daisy advises him occasionally on local matters. Aiden will, very much, know who you are."

"It's so annoying," I muttered, unexpectedly feeling irritated "What is?" Mira asked.