She could see out into the dark hallway, and as she stared at the band of light seeping in under the front door it was suddenly distorted.

Someone was definitely out there.

Dani rushed forwards, through the lounge, into the hallway. She threw open the door and sprang out into the corridor. She looked up and down. She was panting with anticipation, fear too. But the corridor was quiet. Just like it had been before when the note had been slipped into her home.

No one was in sight. But someone had been there. Dani knew that for sure. And it certainly wasn’t the first time she’d felt a presence over the past few days.

Feeling anything but bold and courageous this time, Dani quickly retreated to the safety of her apartment and slammed the door shut, then locked and double-checked the door. She moved through the apartment in a frenzy, flipping every single light on, propping open all the doors, closing all the curtains. Then she went from room to room, once again satisfying herself that she was, in fact, alone.

When she’d finished her search, Dani grabbed a dining chair and lugged it out into the hallway where she propped it under the handle to the front door. Then she walked back into the lounge and curled up on the sofa.

Her eyes darted intermittently between the front door, and the note on the coffee table. Who’d left that note and why, she simply had no idea.

One thing was for sure, she wouldn’t be getting much sleep tonight.

Chapter Forty-Two

Steven Grant woke up on Thursday morning feeling tired and groggy. Even after his usual quiet catch-up Wednesday, he didn’t feel at all rested, and could scarcely believe there were still two full working days before the weekend. He knew why he was feeling so wiped out though: Ethan. Grant and Mary had heard nothing from him for days. The police still wanted to speak to him in connection with the deaths of at least two of his friends – if friends was the right word.

Even if Grant knew where Ethan was, he wasn’t sure he’d tell the police. Ethan was still his son, and he would protect him if he could. He wanted to confront Ethan first and find out exactly what was happening, before he decided whether to let the police at him.

The whole situation was taking a toll on Mary too, though she’d been surprisingly relaxed the last couple of days. Perhaps she’d upped her meds again.

Grant got up from the bed and left Mary sleeping. After fixing himself a quick breakfast he was out of the house not long after eight. It was a cold, dark, foggy and drizzly autumn morning. The kind of morning that could suck any happiness out of even the most hardy and optimistic of people.