Being out here all alone, a kilometre from the nearest neighbour, didn’t bother me in the least. The isolation was protection against the world. I sipped my tea in quiet contemplation of my new surroundings. Enough time had passed for the ache in my heart to lessen. The ache of loss for Gemma … and for Daniel. Sometimes life snatched away someone you cared about, and sometimes you had to walk away feeling like you might break in two but knowing it was for the best long term. Funny. In that moment of flight, you almost imagine the short term won’t be a dark abyss hiding monsters of longing and regret. When I left Daniel, my anger was bigger than love—which, if I was honest, made me a little worried about what would be left when my anger faded. One day, the urge to call Daniel and hear his voice will fade.

I just wish that day would bloody hurry up.

I finished my tea and stood up. ‘Be quick,’ I told Waffles. He scrambled up and ran to the back door. I let him out and he vanished into the night. I stood on the verandah and looked around, eyes adjusting to the dark. Old trees loomed like twisted giants. At this time of the night, even the shed looked menacing. I took a cleansing breath of frigid night air and turned to go inside. Waffles bounded back.

Just then, my phone pinged. A message. A glance at the big old grandfather clock in the corner told me it was past 2 am.

I picked up my phone from the bench. There was one new message; it was from Jane at the station. Someone tried to get into Jack’s place. Randall chased him but he got away. Before I could process that one, there was another ping.

The message was from a blocked number.

Beware bitch. Youll get yours.

I didn’t know what annoyed me more—the threat, or the missing apostrophe.

Still, a threat was a threat. I would need to take care. I wondered whose nose I had put out of joint this time. The problem was that, in my job, this came with the territory. With my large police dog by my side, I went off to bed. Nothing would get past him.

CHAPTER 4: BROKEN SLEEP, BROKEN DREAMS

CHAPTER 4

BROKEN SLEEP, BROKEN DREAMS

No matter how you hold it all together in the daytime, the minute you close your eyes, you lose control. Dreams of things past push their way through the sands of time and ensnare you. After the events of the evening pushed Gemma to the foreground, I suppose it was no coincidence she filled my dreams. This time, it was the first time I met her—eighteen months earlier.