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She went over and scooped him up, noticing, as she did so, an oily scent.

She looked back at the puddle of sludge, realising what it was.

Engine oil.

Wherever the Littleslades were right now, they wouldn’t be there for long because Larry had done what she’d hoped for after all.

All she had to do now was find out where they were going and get there before they did.

The best option, she figured, and the most likely person to know what the mysterious message had meant, was Edward. With Larry back in her rucksack, she headed for the Carnival of Horrors to ask his advice.

When she got there, however, there was no sign of him. She went looking for one of the sullen teenagers and found the one who’d been on the ticket office standing by the entrance to the ghost train.

‘Is Edward here?’ she asked.

The teenager shook his head. ‘He’s been called away.’

‘Again?’ she asked. ‘The maintenance people?’

‘No,’ the teenager told her. ‘Someone rang up and asked him to meet them by the Mayor’s Cave. I think it was something about tomorrow’s Halloween event.’

Kelly couldn’t believe it. It definitely didn’t sound like anything to do with the Halloween event. If Edward had gone up to the cave, maybe he was in trouble.

Kelly headed back towards the entrance. Halfway there, she saw another sullen teenager riding a quad bike.

‘Excuse me,’ she said.

The teenager nodded. ‘Yes?’

‘Someone was looking for you over by the restaurant.’

‘Really?’ the teenager said. ‘What for?’

Kelly paused. ‘Apparently all the staff are getting free ice creams,’ she said, saying the first thing that came into her mind. ‘I tell you what, you hurry off and I’ll take this quad bike back for you.’

‘I don’t like ice-cream.’

‘Really?’

‘It’s too sweet.’

Kelly racked her brains. ‘But … it’s a special new flavour. It’s … ah … bitter gourd flavour. With sour cream topping, and … a stick of celery in it.’

The teenager’s eyes widened, and for the first time a wide smile spread across his face. ‘That sounds … lush.’

The teenager climbed off the bike and ran off towards the restaurant. As soon as he was out of sight, Kelly jumped on the bike, had a quick look at the controls to get her bearings, and sped off.

As she came around the corner, she saw the teenager, looking even more sullen than before, heading back towards her. She twisted the throttle as hard as she could, and the quad bike jumped forwards. As the teenager spotted her and ran to cut her off, Kelly swerved, bumping over a flowerbed, cutting a swathe through a line of pansies Old Ned had probably just planted, and made a beeline for the main entrance.

‘I’ll bring it back!’ she shouted over her shoulder as she sped through the open gates.

Fifteen minutes later, she found the entrance to the trail that led up to the Mayor’s Cave. With it still being daylight, she was able to make out the junction where she had made a mistake previously and this time took the correct fork, seeing the cave behind the fence come into view a couple of minutes later.

There was a new KEEP OUT sign hanging on the fence as she pulled to a stop and switched off the quad bike’s engine. But there was no sign of anyone.

She looked around, trying to see if anyone had been there. Then, trying to think what Edward might do, she squatted down, peering closely at the bushy undergrowth beside the fence.

There, just on the other side, was the bent stem of a stinging nettle, and beyond it a patch of crushed grass suggesting someone had climbed over not so long before.