She did so, grateful for his help, leaning against the inside of the door for a moment because her knees felt wobbly. Voices still yammered outside, two men having an argument from the sounds of it. ‘Stop being such a wimp!’ she told herself and went to telephone the local police station, explaining her dilemma.

In a short time she heard a siren, then the sound of tyres on the drive. After that an authoritative voice outside told the group of men to leave the premises.

There was a knock on the door and this time she used the spyhole to check who it was before she opened it, relieved to see the uniformed police officer.

‘Are you all right, Ms Carr? Can we come in for a minute?’ The man flashed his ID and his companion did the same with hers.

Sophie held the door open. ‘Thank you for coming so quickly. I was a bit worried when one of those men wouldn’t let me close the door.’ Though it was the man’s expression that had frightened her most. He’d looked cruel, enjoying a moment of power. Thank heavens for the other fellow, Peter Shane, who had at least been courteous!

‘Better be careful how you open the door from now on, Ms Carr. Care to explain what this is all about?’

‘Yes. Come and sit down.’ She explained what had happened that day, shuddering again as she relived the feeling of being hunted and trapped.

‘Is Jez Winter likely to be coming back?’

‘I shouldn’t think so. It was just a chance meeting, because I could help him out. I’d never met him before. I’m doubly glad I did help, now that I’ve seen what those horrible people can be like.’

‘You’re quite famous yourself,’ the female officer said with a smile.

‘Not that sort of fame, and I wouldn’t want it, either. It’s my books that go out and face the public. I only give talks occasionally, and not to people like that.’

‘You should think about getting some automatic gates with an intercom fitted to your drive,’ the male officer said. ‘Those fellows won’t give up for some time if they think you’re involved with Winter. Anyway, a famous woman living on her own is always a target. I hope you have a good security system here?’

‘Er – no.’

‘Might be worth getting one installed.’

When they’d left, Sophie made sure every external door and window was locked and went into her meditation room. She lit a joss stick, set it in front of the statue of the Buddha, inclined her head in a gesture of respect for what he represented, then sat down on the quilt cross-legged.

She sighed in relief as the familiar feeling of peace washed through her. She wasn’t a Buddhist, wasn’t anything really, but she loved meditating. And she was very fond of this particular statue of the Buddha, which she’d found one bleak day when she had felt there to be no hope in the world. His serene smile had seemed to promise her a brighter future so she’d bought the statue.