Q: Do you know when you were found?
A: It felt like ages standing there in the rain, but I don’t know when it was.
Q: And who found you?
A: Peter. I had just come out to move again when he came through the garden. That’s the trick—don’t move.
Q: And you were taken to the folly to get a new poncho?
A: Yes. And then I started seeking.
Q: Were you ever by the woodshed at any point when you were hiding or seeking?
A: I went past it a few times but I didn’t check it. It was locked.
Q: How do you know that?
A: Sebastian told us. All the outbuildings were locked. I walked past that area but I didn’t really look at it. I think I would have noticed if the door was open and the wheelbarrow was out. I feel I can say that for certain.
Q: At any point when you were outside did you see Rosie or Noel?
A: I think I may have seen Noel running through the back gardens when the game started, but I’m not sure. Noel’s quite a good climber. He may have been going for the trees. I don’t know, though.
Q: When would this have been?
A: I don’t know. Early. Early on.
Q: Did you see which door he used to leave the house?
A: No.
Q: And the game itself ended when . . .
A: There was this tremendous lightning and a thunderclap and all the lights in the house went out. Right after that, we all decided to go back inside. We didn’t want to be hit by lightning, and we needed a fire and a drink anyway.
Q: Do you know what time this was?
A: I think around two thirty. There’s a grandfather clock in the entryway hall. It chimes on the half hour and hour. I remember it making a noise soon after we came in, because the hall was dark and it was quite an eerie sound.
Q: And Rosie and Noel never came in?
A: No. We thought they were off together somewhere. Romantically, I mean. They had been getting closer over the last week and we thought they were out having a night together, so best to leave them to it.
Q: Romantically.
A: Yes.
Q: And that was recent?
A: Yes. Rosie had been . . . well, she’d been dating Julian up until recently.
Q: There had been a breakup?
A: Yes. Julian is a bit of a lothario. Rosie had had enough.
Q: She split from Julian?
A: Yes, but . . . he wouldn’t, I mean . . . if you’re suggesting that— Q: I’m not suggesting anything. We’re merely trying to ascertain the facts.
A: Julian is a tomcat. Everyone is used to his ways. This sort of thing happens a lot with us. We may get mad at each other, but the most violent thing that’s ever happened was Rosie pouring a bottle of Coke over Julian’s head. We care for each other. We love each other. We . . .
Q: Do you need a moment?
A: No. I can do this. Please. Carry on. I need to do this for them.
Q: And what happened once you were back inside?
A: We went to the sitting room to get warm. Sebastian was desperate to get at a certain bottle of whisky, something quite special that was locked in a cabinet. He was crawling over the floor to get at it and he almost knocked the wall in trying to open the cabinet. Peter had to get down on the floor to help him. It was a very special bottle, and we drank some and toasted and talked. I think it may have been too much because Peter felt ill, and then Angela drifted off to bed. Theo went to give everyone glasses of water before going to bed herself—she always does that. Future doctor. Always taking care of everyone. Yash was ill as well. Sebastian, Julian, and I stayed there to finish the bottle. We were talking, and then I saw the light.
Q: The light?
A: Something flashed outside! Not lightning, I mean a torch or something. It was on the ground, a beam of light. I thought maybe it was Rosie or Noel.
Q: Where was this exactly?
A: Somewhere just outside. Close to the house. I think it was coming in the general direction of the drive, from the left. Across the front patio. Like someone was coming around the side of the house. That’s what it looked like. I got up to see if it was them, and I was thinking it was strange because you could only have a torch if you were a seeker, and neither of them had been found. Sebastian and Julian didn’t see it, but Sebastian was facing away from the window and Julian was doing something, not looking that way. But I was facing the window. I saw that flash clear as anything.
Q: When was this?
A: I honestly don’t know. I was a bit beyond telling the time. It was a torchlight in the darkness, though. The sun comes up quite early this time of year, around four or four thirty. So before that, but I don’t think much before. I thought that must be Rosie or Noel, so I went to the door—the main door out the front—and I called to them and told them to come in, the game was over. I kept shouting for them. I shouted. I called to them . . .
Q: Are you all right? Do you need a moment?
A: May I have a cup of tea? I’ll be all right. I . . . Please may I have a cup of tea?
EXCERPT FROM THE WITNESS STATEMENT OF SEBASTIAN HOLT-CAREY
24 June 1995
Q: This is your family house, correct?
A: That’s correct.
Q: And your family is away?
A: In Greece. We have a house there. They go several times a year.
Q: And you’ve come up from Cambridge with your friends to celebrate graduation?
A: That’s correct. Do you mind if I have a cigarette? I’m . . .
Q: That’s fine. So these are your friends. Housemates, is that right?
A: Yes.
Q: Your family knew you would be here?
A: They are aware.
Q: And what staff is there at this house?
A: There’s no live-in staff. There are cleaners who come in a few times a week. There are gardeners, at least four, usually. The head gardener is Chester Jones. He lives in Ramscoate.
Q: There were no staff on the grounds last night?
A: No. It was just us.
Q: Do you think it would be known locally that your family was away?
A: I would imagine so. You know what it’s like in a village. Everyone knows everyone else’s business.
Q: Is the gate at the end of the drive always locked?
A: Always.
Q: Who has the code to get in?
A: I don’t know. Everyone who works here or makes deliveries, I’d imagine. I don’t think the code would be much of a secret around the village.
Q: How does one access the gate if the power is out?
A: It can be unlocked with a key.
Q: And who has a key?
A: I do, my family. Chester.
Q: You told the others the outbuildings were locked, is that correct?
A: Yes.
Q: And that includes the woodshed.
A: Yes. We recently put a lock on that because of the burglaries in the area. People break in to steal tack. We’ve lost a number of saddles over the years.
Q: How did you know everything was locked? Did you check?
A: I didn’t have to. My family is in Greece. They lock everything before they go.
Q: During this game, you were the “seeker”？
A: Yes.
Q: What did that entail?
A: Standing down at the folly, mostly. Shouting. When the team found people, they’d bring them to me. I’d give the new seekers yellow rain slickers and a torch. It’s a silly game.
Q: So you were standing in the folly most of the night?
A: Yes. I had some shelter from the rain.
Q: And the game ended when the power went out?
A: Yes. The lightning got far too close. It felt a bit like tempting fate to run around outside when trees might fall on you or lightning catch you in the open. We made one final push, found Julian clinging to the top of the pergola, and suspended play.