At Ashfordly Station Sergeant Blaketon was on the phone in the duty room. On the other side of the room, Alf Ventress too was on the phone. They finished their calls at about the same time and looked at each other.

"Just updated Eileen at Aidensfield," Alf explained, " told her Nick and Phil are AWOL but said that its more than likely they're just sheltering somewhere as owt else."

"I've just had a call from a chap called Mason, runs a haulage company out York way. One of his drivers had made a drop off in Ashfordly then on the return trip found a boy hidden in his lorry on the forest road just about -" the Sergeant peered at the map on the wall, "here. Made a grab for him but the lad bolted. Now the driver got only a brief glimpse but from what he did see, sounds like it could have been Vaughan."

Alf looked stunned. "And he's out in the forest somewhere? On a night like this?"

Blaketon took a deep breath. "I need to go and speak to John Vaughan," he said. "He'll want us to go out and search of course but we've no chance of finding him in that weather, Alf."

Alf moved over to the window looking at the snow coming down.

"Poor little beggar," he said softly, "he's no chance out there."

"Aye." Blaketon swallowed hard. "And his Dad will know that the minute I tell him. God Alf what a bloody mess." He paused. "This is bad enough Alf. I hope we have no more bad news tomorrow. I wish I'd told Division I couldn't spare them two."

"You've nowt to blame yerself for Sarge, orders are orders." Alf paused. "I'll put the kettle on. I'm thinking you'll be bringing John Vaughan back with you."


Phil and Nick did not sleep that night. Their two charges did. Roache slept comfortably in his chair. Phil had chucked a blanket over him and he was quite happy. Mattie slept snug and warm cuddled up to Nick. The cottage was lit with oil lamps but the two police officers did not bother with these using the glow of the fire for light.

Phil went to the window at five am, it had stopped snowing and the landscape had turned into a beautiful white wonderland.

"I'll give it an hour, then head for the farm," he said sitting down again. "Might take me a while."

"No problem," Nick said. He looked over at Roache. "He's been no trouble."

Phil looked at Matthew. "How's he doing?"

"Much warmer," Nick said. "If you hadn't found this place -"

They looked quietly at each other then Phil suddenly grinned, clearly amused.

"What?" Nick asked.

"This must be one of the strangest nights we've ever had," his colleague replied. "So, what do you reckon it'll be off Blaketon then? Congratulations and well done or a bollocking?"

"Bollocking. Come on, think about it. We've trashed the station car. We've - pretty much - broken into this place."

"Yeah but we found him didn't we?"Phil pointed out nodding at Matthew.

"Well hardly, he just charged out in front of us didn't he?"

"Oh well. We get a bollocking most days. What's another one in the scheme of things." Phil got up and went over to the stove. "I'll put the kettle on again."

As he was doing so Mattie stirred and opened his eyes.

"Hallo you," Nick said gently. "How are you? Remember where you are?"

The boy nodded sleepily.

"Feel hungry," he admitted.

"Well you might be in luck there," Phil replied. "I've found some tinned soup. Lets get some of that in you."

Mattie looked anxiously up at Nick.

"What is it son?" Nick asked him.

"I - I need to go back to school don't I?"

Nick and Phil exchanged glances.

"Well we'll worry about that in a bit all right?" Nick said soothingly. He looked up as Phil came over with a bowl of soup. "Get that in you Mattie. We'll worry about other things in a bit."


John Vaughan had come back to the duty room as Alf had predicted and had spent most of the night pacing like a caged lion.

"The snow's stopped," he said urgently. "We can go out there now can't we?"

"We're getting the roads cleared and then we're going out there sir," Blaketon said. "But it makes sense just to wait a little while for some daylight."

"Sergeant my boy could be - well, we need to bloody get out there dammit!"

"I know that sir!" Blaketon replied politely but firmly. "And the first chance we get, we'll be back out there. But I have to consider the welfare and safety of my officers sir."

Vaughan sat down wearily. "What's the point?" he said bitterly. "There's no way Matthew could have survived last night out there. I've lost my boy Sergeant and its all my fault. Tell me, how do I live with that?"

"Look, sir, don't give up hope," Alf Ventress said kindly. "You never know he might have found himself a bit of shelter somewhere."

But he and Blaketon looked quietly at each other knowing that it was very possible that John Vaughan's fears could be well founded.


Back at the cottage Mattie finished his soup. "Better?" Nick asked him.

"Yes thanks." Mattie swallowed hard. "I'm really sorry."

"What for?" Nick asked.

Phil, sitting in the chair nearby said, "I don't think you need to apologise, lad."

"I ran out in front of your car and made you crash!"

"It was just bad luck that's all," Phil said gently. "You didn't mean that to happen."

"Mattie," Nick said, "do you think you could tell me a bit about why you ran away from school?"

The boy did not answer.

"Mattie, were you bullied, picked on, by the other boys?"

"It wasn't the boys in my class, it was the bigger boys."

"What was Mattie? What did they do?"

Mattie slowly rolled up his shirt sleeve. Both Nick and Phil drew deep breaths when they saw the livid bruising on the boy's arm.

"Have you got bruising anywhere else Mattie?" Nick asked. It was hard to keep the emotion and anger out of his voice.

Mattie undid his shirt a bit at the top so Nick could see more bruising at the base of his neck and on his chest.

"What did they do Mattie? Tell me nice and slowly."

So Mattie told the two shocked constables. They listened as he told of being regularly beaten, tied to the stair banisters, thrown into cold baths and being held under the water whch explained the bruising at the bottom of his neck.

"Mattie did you tell your teachers?" Nick asked.

Slowly the boy nodded.

"Who did you tell?"

"My housemaster, Mr Ford."

"And what did he do?"

"He sent me to Mr Wilson."

"And, what did he do?" Nick pressed gently.

"He - he told me I had to - get used to it - and gave me the belt for telling tales." Mattie suddenly began to sob, great heaving sobs. "And I had to get away, I had to run away because they were going to kill me, they said they would."

"Mattie, come on, its all right, its all right." Nick pulled the boy to him desperately trying to comfort him as he and Phil exchanged horrified glances both of them sickened to the core by what they had heard. As experienced officers they were used to dealing with violence but this level of violence inflicted on a young child by other children without any adult intervention was something neither of them had experienced before.