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Back The House by the Sea Save as PDF
Chapters (71)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 36
  39. 37
  40. 38
  41. 39
  42. 40
  43. 41
  44. 42
  45. 43
  46. 44
  47. 45
  48. 46
  49. 47
  50. 48
  51. 49
  52. 50
  53. 51
  54. 52
  55. 53
  56. 54
  57. 55
  58. 56
  59. 57
  60. 58
  61. 59
  62. 60
  63. 61
  64. 62
  65. 63
  66. 64
  67. 65
  68. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  69. MORE FROM LOUISE DOUGLAS
  70. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  71. ABOUT BOLDWOOD BOOKS

‘This will stop,’ he said. ‘We’ll find out who’s responsible and we’ll make it stop. We will.’ He took my hand. ‘We can do this, Edie. We can get through this. We just have to hold our nerve.’

47

We slept in Anna’s old room that night, Joe, me and the three kittens. We locked the door and bolted it from the inside. I wanted to push the wardrobe up against the door too, as an extra precaution, but Joe said that would be ridiculous – we weren’t expecting anyone to come at us with a battering ram. Nonetheless, we brought the tools that could do serious damage to a door or a person, the axe, a large hammer and the chainsaw, up to the room and locked them in with us. We didn’t really think anyone would break in, in the middle of the night – at least, we told ourselves we didn’t – but if they did, we would be ready for them.

I couldn’t sleep. Even with Joe beside me, snoring like a baby, I couldn’t switch off the scenarios that chased through my mind. I imagined faceless people watching the villa from the gardens. I imagined them waiting until they believed we were asleep before they made their move. I jumped at the slightest sound: the creak of settling wood, the hoot of an owl, a kitten rolling out of its box. I lay on my back, in the bed, with my eyes wide open, adrenaline scratching in my veins. Mystery of villa murders! British couple’s throats slit as they slept. Was mafia behind gruesome DeLuca deaths?

Nothing happened. It was a peaceful night. The dark hours passed and day crept over the horizon and the night slid away.

I only relaxed enough to sleep when I heard the familiar sound of the Arnones’ cockerel crowing up the hill. When I woke again, light was streaming through the slats in the shutters, making stripes over the floor and bed. The kittens were playing on the rug, tumbling over one another, pouncing on each other’s tails, making cheerful skittering noises on the floorboards.

Joe lay on his back on top of the covers, one arm crooked above his head, his eyes closed and his lips parted. His T-shirt had ridden up so that a bulge of belly was exposed, a line of three red mosquito bites leading away from his navel. He had a hard-on, the tip of his penis poking cheerfully through the gap in his boxer shorts. He looked vulnerable, faintly ridiculous, completely adorable. How could anything bad happen to either of us when Joe was sleeping like that, innocent and uninhibited as a baby?

I didn’t want to disturb him.