Not wanting to draw Jason’s attention, Dani decided to drop back one more, but doing so meant that Jason’s car was out of sight more and more frequently as he took a series of left and right turns. When Dani next turned right, there was no sign of his car up ahead at all and she had a momentary wave of panic. She pushed her foot down. Relying on instinct, she sped up and took the next two turns on memory, retracing her earlier steps.

Sure enough, she soon had Jason’s car in sight again. It surely couldn’t be a coincidence that they were now so close to the Grants’ house?

After just one more turn, Dani’s deduction was confirmed. She slowed and turned her headlights off. The Grants lived on a cul-de-sac and if she followed Jason onto that road he was sure to spot her car straight away. Instead, she crawled to the junction and brought her car to a stop once she’d got a good enough view from around the corner.

Further ahead, Jason’s car was pulled up by the side of the road. He was just getting out.

Dani’s already turbulent thoughts were only further troubled when he didn’t head left across the road, but instead right, and up the drive of Ed Francis’s house.

‘Seriously?’ Dani said out loud.

A few moments later Jason stepped inside the house, though Dani couldn’t see from her angle who had opened the door for him.

What the hell was going on?

Dani shut off her engine. Should she get out?

No. What was the point? She could hardly go and sneak up to the window to get a look.

Could she?

Instead she sank low in her seat and simply sat there as her brain whirred away, unhappily.

With the engine off she was soon cold and shivering. What on earth was she doing? Why hadn’t she just stayed at home in the warmth and relative safety of her apartment?

Though was her home really safe now?

Dani tried to shake away the unwelcome thoughts, though she really didn’t have anything more positive to put in their place. Minutes later, her ringing phone finally stole her attention away, though the sparse relief was short-lived when she pulled the phone from her pocket and saw who was calling. Jason.

‘Hey,’ she said.

Did he know?

‘Dani, are you still at home?’

‘Of course,’ she said.

‘I’m really sorry, something has come up. I don’t know when I’m going to get back to yours.’

‘Something’s come up?’

‘Yeah.’

‘What?’

He sighed. ‘I can’t really say. Not yet. But I’ll explain all soon, I promise.’

Why was he holding back on her?