She walked quickly to the bathroom and locked the door. Her heart was thumping. Her phone was in her bedroom and she was furious with herself. What if he decided to break the bathroom door down? Why would he? She had already given him anything he might want to take. She flushed the toilet even though she hadn’t been. She waited until she could hear no noise, hoping that the sound of her moving about in the night might have scared him away. She imagined him standing outside the bathroom door, waiting for her to emerge so he could hurt her. Finally, she pulled together enough courage to unlock the door. When she went back into her room, she could sense that he had gone from the house.

She went to close her bedroom window because the temperature had dropped and the rain was coming down. She was shaking and not just because she was cold, she had been a fool, letting her guard down, believing he thought she was special.

As she looked out she saw Tim crossing the garden back towards the guest house. She ducked out of the way and waited a few moments before looking again. He was standing there looking up at her window. His eyes snapped to hers in an instant and she felt her blood run cold. He didn’t react to the rain pouring down his face. Jasmine didn’t feel excited. She felt terror. He smiled at her, that big wide unnatural grin; although it was dark she could see his face clearly. Was this really happening?

He finally turned away and went inside. Jasmine’s eyes were transfixed on the guest house door. What if he came back? Maybe she had enough time to run and get a knife before he could get to her. What was he doing in her parents’ room? What did he want? Jasmine thought back to this morning when he’d kissed her, and it occurred to her it only happened after she threatened to tell her parents about what happened with Felicity. Was he trying to keep her from saying anything by giving her what she thought she wanted? Ten out of ten for distraction. The light inside the guest house went off and she kept watching. If he came out again, she could call the police at least before he could get to her. She felt so stupid, so alone, so completely vulnerable. Who the hell was he?

Chapter Thirty-Three

Now

The body is definitely Tim’s. I thought he had breezed out of town the same way he came in, but in truth he’d never left.