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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

He appeared at the top of the stairs, tail wagging and with a mischievous look on his face. As he came down, Jan saw he had something white in his mouth.

‘What have you got?’ she asked, and took it away.

It was a small white bootee belonging to a baby or large doll, now covered in saliva. ‘Where did you get that?’

Tinder looked back guiltily. Jan went upstairs and found the door to the second bedroom wide open. She couldn’t have closed it properly after she’d switched off the sensor light. The contents of a number of Camile’s carefully packed boxes were scattered across the floor.

‘Tinder! You naughty boy!’ she called. She’d have to clear it up later. She needed to go to the village store now, before DC Matt Davis arrived. ‘Naughty boy,’ she said again as she came downstairs.

Tinder looked at her with large, sorrowful eyes. ‘It’s OK,’ she said, rubbing his head. ‘It’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have allowed you upstairs. Your mistress doesn’t.’

She ruffled his fur again and then, lead in hand, opened the front door and set off for Merryless. As well as milk, she needed to top up on loose change to feed the meter. Also, she’d have a look at the food in their freezer. They kept a reasonable selection for a village store to try to persuade villagers to shop there rather than going to the supermarkets in Coleshaw.

Jan walked briskly along Wood Lane with Tinder not far behind. The day had started off bright but now the clouds were gathering. She could feel the temperature dropping. It was early November and the weather forecast was predicting ground frost by the end of the week. Her mother was already asking about Christmas and hoping that Jan would spend it with them. But she couldn’t leave Tinder alone. Her good friend Ruby had texted asking if she had any plans for Christmas and suggesting they could spend it holed up in the cottage with wine and movies, which she liked the idea of.

‘Come on, Tinder! Keep up!’ Jan called. He kept stopping to sniff and forage in the undergrowth at the edge of the woods.

‘Come on. Good boy!’ Jan called again, and turned.

Tinder was nowhere to be seen.

‘Tinder!’ she shouted. ‘Here, now!’

There was no sign of him. She stayed where she was and listened for any sound suggesting he could be close. But the woods were eerily quiet. ‘Tinder! Come on. Here, boy!’