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Back The Cottage Save as PDF
Chapters (82)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. ONE
  4. TWO
  5. THREE
  6. FOUR
  7. FIVE
  8. SIX
  9. SEVEN
  10. EIGHT
  11. NINE
  12. TEN
  13. ELEVEN
  14. TWELVE
  15. THIRTEEN
  16. FOURTEEN
  17. FIFTEEN
  18. SIXTEEN
  19. SEVENTEEN
  20. EIGHTEEN
  21. NINETEEN
  22. TWENTY
  23. TWENTY-ONE
  24. TWENTY-TWO
  25. TWENTY-THREE
  26. TWENTY-FOUR
  27. TWENTY-FIVE
  28. TWENTY-SIX
  29. TWENTY-SEVEN
  30. TWENTY-EIGHT
  31. TWENTY-NINE
  32. THIRTY
  33. THIRTY-ONE
  34. THIRTY-TWO
  35. THIRTY-THREE
  36. THIRTY-FOUR
  37. THIRTY-FIVE
  38. THIRTY-SIX
  39. THIRTY-SEVEN
  40. THIRTY-EIGHT
  41. THIRTY-NINE
  42. FORTY
  43. FORTY-ONE
  44. FORTY-TWO
  45. FORTY-THREE
  46. FORTY-FOUR
  47. FORTY-FIVE
  48. FORTY-SIX
  49. FORTY-SEVEN
  50. FORTY-EIGHT
  51. FORTY-NINE
  52. FIFTY
  53. FIFTY-ONE
  54. FIFTY-TWO
  55. FIFTY-THREE
  56. FIFTY-FOUR
  57. FIFTY-FIVE
  58. FIFTY-SIX
  59. FIFTY-SEVEN
  60. FIFTY-EIGHT
  61. FIFTY-NINE
  62. SIXTY
  63. SIXTY-ONE
  64. SIXTY-TWO
  65. SIXTY-THREE
  66. SIXTY-FOUR
  67. SIXTY-FIVE
  68. SIXTY-SIX
  69. SIXTY-SEVEN
  70. SIXTY-EIGHT
  71. SIXTY-NINE
  72. SEVENTY
  73. SEVENTY-ONE
  74. SEVENTY-TWO
  75. SEVENTY-THREE
  76. SEVENTY-FOUR
  77. Suggested topics for reading-group discussion
  78. Keep Reading …
  79. Lisa Stone also writes under the name of Cathy Glass.Don’t miss her latest book …
  80. About the Author
  81. Books by Lisa Stone
  82. About the Publisher

At seven-thirty that Wednesday evening Jan scooped up Tinder from where he was lying on the sofa and carried him upstairs and into her bedroom. She set him on her bed and came out, closing the door securely. Hopefully he would sleep and not chew things. She’d let him out as soon as she had taken the video clip. Capturing them on film would be undeniable proof, not open to misinterpretation as a photograph could be.

With a mixture of fear and anticipation, Jan returned downstairs. Not long to go now. She’d been waiting all day for this moment and yet, as it approached, she wondered if she was really doing the right thing. Perhaps it would be wiser and safer simply to leave the cottage and try to put all this behind her. But then not knowing was likely to fuel her imagination and haunt her even more. She’d seen something that couldn’t be explained and needed to know what it was before she left.

Going into the living room, Jan opened the curtains so the light from the room shone out over the patio. She went into the kitchen and gathered together the food she’d bought to entice them, then opened the back door. It was another cold but dry night. A crescent moon hung in a cloudless sky and the light from the living room fell dimly over the patio. She’d switch it off once she’d finished.

Jan began depositing little piles of food around the patio. Not randomly as she had before, but leading from the outer edges of the patio to the window. Close enough, she hoped, that she’d be able to film them while they ate. For a moment she was startled as she heard a noise in the shrubbery, but then a bird fluttered out. She quickly finished distributing the food and returned indoors, locking and bolting the back door.

She checked that her phone was on silent – the camera flash wasn’t on – and then, going into the living room, switched off the light. It was pitch black now. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust, and she groped her way to the armchair where she took one of the cushions to sit on. She placed it on the floor behind the sofa to the far right of the patio window. Partially concealed by the full-length curtain, she had a clear view of the patio where the food was most concentrated. From here she should be able to take a video without being seen.