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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

Jan saw the look of pity on her friend’s face and knew she didn’t believe her. She began searching the patio and garden as Ruby watched from the back door. It was late afternoon and on an already overcast day, the light was fading fast and the air was chilling.

‘Come in now,’ Ruby called. ‘It’s cold. Let’s have that pudding and open another bottle of wine.’

Jan checked the sideway but there was no ball of twine. She knew she was making a fool of herself. Reluctantly, she came in. ‘It was there,’ she said helplessly. ‘They’ve taken it while we were in the living room. But look at this, I have more proof.’ She grabbed her phone. ‘See this photo. I took it this morning. Footprints all over my car. The same track marks I found by the gap in the hedge at the bottom of the garden.’

Ruby peered at the photo. ‘I can see muddy prints on your car,’ she said. ‘But that could be anything.’

Jan heard her friend’s rationality. And standing here with her now she could see the muddy marks weren’t proof and could indeed be ‘anything’.

She felt Ruby gently touch her arm. ‘Jan, I think you’ve seen something and got spooked by living out here all alone. Why don’t you come and stay with me for a while? I have a spare bedroom. I’m at work all day so you’d have the place to yourself.’

‘I’ll think about it,’ Jan said, then realized she’d sounded curt. ‘Thank you,’ she added. ‘And thanks for listening. I’m sure you’re right, so let me get that pudding and we’ll talk about something else.’

The look of relief on Ruby’s face said it all.

THIRTY-FOUR

It was after midnight by the time Jan was in bed, but she couldn’t sleep. She lay in the dark, staring at the ceiling, with the afternoon’s conversation running through her head as if set on a loop. It was torture. Tinder was on the bed beside her, also restless. It was clear Ruby hadn’t believed her, and who could blame her? It had sounded so far-fetched. No one else had seen anything apart from Chris and he’d denied it. Perhaps he’d been telling the truth and he really hadn’t seen anything. Perhaps there was nothing to see. There was no real evidence, Jan conceded, and began to question her own sanity.

The ball of twine could have been blown from the patio into the shrubbery by the wind as Ruby had later suggested. And the muddy footprints on her car could indeed ‘be anything’, including foxes, squirrels or large birds. Jan tossed and turned, and kept checking the time on her phone. She’d offered Ruby her bed, but she’d insisted on taking the sofa in the living room, which converted into a bed.