Jan had arranged to lodge with her mother for a few weeks while she applied for jobs and looked for a flat to rent. She would also spend a weekend with Ruby and catch up with other friends she’d neglected while she’d been here. Maybe even make a proper start on that book she was supposed to be writing. She had a few ideas, and if she could get a film or photograph, she would also write a feature article about the creatures in the woods. Newspapers and magazines were always keen to buy pieces about the weird and supernatural.

The front doorbell rang and Tinder shot off the sofa and ran to the front door, barking. Jan came out from where she’d been standing and switched on the living-room light. Tinder would be as pleased to see Camile as she was, she thought, and opened the door.

It wasn’t Camile, but Chris.

‘I wanted to say goodbye,’ he said, and handed her a box of chocolates.

‘Oh, OK, thanks,’ she said awkwardly. She hadn’t expected to see him again.

‘Do you want to come in?’ she offered, feeling she should. ‘Camile will be here soon.’

‘Yes, if I’m not disturbing you.’

She stood aside to let him in and he headed to the living room.

‘You’ve got the curtains open,’ he remarked. ‘I didn’t think you liked seeing the dark.’

She shrugged. ‘I’m getting better. I’ve had to, living here. Do you want a drink?’ she asked, putting the chocolates on the table.

‘Yes, please.’

‘Scotch?’

‘Thanks.’

Chris sat in his usual armchair and Tinder went to him. Jan poured his drink and handed it to him.

‘Aren’t you joining me?’ he asked.

‘No, I’ll be driving soon.’

She sat on the sofa, her back to the open curtains, as Chris took a sip of his drink. This would be her last chance to challenge him about the video he’d removed from her phone, for as soon as Camile arrived she would leave.

She took a breath and looked at him. ‘Chris, why did you delete the video from my phone?’

A brief flash of discomposure and then he recovered. ‘I’m not sure what you mean,’ he said.

‘The video clip I took of what was coming into the garden. I showed you, then left my phone down here while I went upstairs to let Tinder out of the bedroom. After you’d gone, I found it had been erased. You knew that was the only proof I had.’

He briefly met her gaze, but his look was guarded. ‘I remember you showing me the video, but that’s all. Perhaps I accidentally deleted it.’

She was about to say that was highly unlikely when the doorbell rang again. Tinder shot down the hall.

‘That’ll be Camile,’ Chris said.

‘Yes, I know,’ Jan said tartly, and went to answer the door.