‘Yeah, that would be nice,’ said Steph. She watched them walk away, unsure what to make of Owen. He wasn’t like either of his brothers, who came across as confident, possibly over-confident at times. Owen was more … she scratched around for the right word … timid. He showed great bravado but it was just a show, she was sure. She’d seen the way his eyes were always darting around as if he was some sort of prey and danger was hot on his heels. The little tic he had running his hand across the back of his neck – she’d noticed him doing that more and more.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Conmere, Sunday, 12 May, 7.05 p.m.

Steph still felt unsettled as Natalie and her family unit disappeared into their home. She turned and continued walking through the woods, finding herself navigating in the vague direction of Dominic’s house. She wasn’t sure what had made her do so, but it wasn’t long before she came upon another super-lodge, which could only belong to Dominic.

It was a Colonial-style house and looked as if it should be in the glossy pages of Vacation Staycation as a luxury home to rent for those families with an equally luxurious income. It was more modern and certainly more ostentatious than Owen’s. It was bigger, for a start, and if the size of the picture window in the staircase was an identifier as to rank within the family, then Dominic’s won hands-down. The porch didn’t just sit at the front of the house as his brother’s did, it wrapped itself around both sides of the property. There was also a matching first-floor balcony and two sets of double doors opening onto the front of the balcony from either side of the feature window. The driveway swept in a loop around a central grassed area and there was a double garage on the far side.

Wow. It looked like serious money here.

Keeping to the path and away from the boundary fence which marked Dominic’s private residence, Steph worked her way around the perimeter, but the high fencing and heavily planted shrubs and bushes ensured this part of the house was kept extremely private.

The trees at the back of Dominic’s house were denser and the height of the trees blocked out much of the light, leaving Steph feeling somewhat colder than before. As she left Dominic’s house behind her, she knew she was now consciously seeking out Harry’s house. She was dying to know what sort of property he and Elizabeth had lived in, not necessarily because she thought it would help with her investigation, but because she wanted to know what Harry’s tastes were like. She wanted to know as much about him as she could. Even to her own mind, it sounded borderline stalking, but she was so drawn towards him, it was unnerving.