Chapters (82)
- Cover
- Dedication
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- SEVENTY-FOUR
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Eight o’clock came and went. Jan’s sense of expectation and foreboding increased. Where were they? She gently lifted Tinder from her lap and resettled him at the other end of the sofa. He looked at her inquisitively as she knelt on the sofa and then peered through the gap in the curtains into the dark beyond. There was nothing to be seen but the ghostly outline of the trees in the woods.
Jan stayed where she was, her breath shallow. She held the edge of the curtain and glanced at Tinder for any sign he’d heard something. Five minutes passed and he began dozing again. Perhaps they weren’t coming tonight. Perhaps they wouldn’t ever come again. Animals changed their dens and burrows. She’d give it another fifteen minutes and then switch off the sensor light.
It crossed Jan’s mind as she waited, looking through the gap in the curtains, that perhaps she’d become a little obsessed with whatever was visiting the garden. Chris clearly hadn’t been worried. But she knew she wouldn’t sleep easy until she’d seen whatever was out there. She couldn’t shift the feeling she’d had in the garden of being watched. It had been intense and she didn’t think it was just her imagination.
A few more minutes passed, then Tinder slowly raised his head. His ears pricked up and his eyes rounded as he began a low, guttural growl. He’d heard something, but the motion-sensor light hadn’t come on. Perhaps whatever it was had just entered the garden and was now making its way over the lawn towards the cottage. Jan clutched the edge of the curtain, ready to pull it open. Tinder was still growling.
Suddenly a noise at the back door made her jump. Tinder leapt off the sofa and ran to the door, barking. But the light outside still hadn’t come on, so whatever it was must have avoided the sensor and gone straight to the back door.
Jan went after Tinder. He was pawing the door, desperate to get out. She gingerly opened the back door, aware that any noise would probably cause whatever was outside to run away. The cold night air rushed in, but there was nothing to be seen. As she stared into the darkness, door held ready to close, Tinder ran to the bottom of the garden barking furiously, then disappeared through the hedge. Drat! The barking stopped, then Jan heard a yelp of pain come from the woods. A cry that suggested an animal – possibly a dog – had been injured.
‘Tinder?’ she called, praying he would reappear.
Nothing.
‘Tinder!’
A lone owl hooted in the distance.
Shit! She needed to find him and fast. Not giving herself time to think, she ran out over the lawn towards the place where he had disappeared.
‘Tinder!’ she shouted. The air was still. ‘Tinder!’ He could be hurt.