‘I know. Wish we could afford to pay him – we’ve got enough on our plate with all the work that needs doing on the house itself, and Jack’s not really into gardening.’

I went over to the window and was stopped in my tracks. The dark-haired man I had seen previously was coming through the back gate again. He looked tired and careworn; lost in his own thoughts. Raising his eyes briefly towards Mrs Barley’s bedroom window, he turned and entered the summer house, closing the door behind him. A large crow, one wing splashed with white, alighted suddenly on the building’s portico. It stood perfectly still, almost as though it were standing guard. I felt my pulse begin to race.

‘Some man’s just gone into next door’s garden. I don’t know who he is, but he was here the other day.’ Frantically I tried the handle to the French doors, but they were locked. I wanted to tackle him, find out what he wanted.

Lucy peered through the glass, then threw me a strange look. ‘I can’t see anyone.’

‘He went into the summer house.’ I rattled the door handle again in exasperation. ‘For God’s sake. Jack’s put the bloody key somewhere. I’ll see if it’s in the kitchen.’

I rummaged through the drawers and eventually found the key, but when I went back into the living room, the door to the summer house was ajar and the man had vanished.

‘Shit!’

I looked at a wide-eyed Alfie, who was staring up at me. ‘Sit!’ he repeated.

I clapped a hand to my mouth. ‘Oops – sorry,’ I mouthed.

Lucy snorted with laughter. ‘Don’t worry. He hears a lot worse from his dad.’

‘I wanted to speak to that bloke. Did you see where he went?’

She grimaced apologetically. ‘No, sorry – I wasn’t really paying attention. Alfie dropped his cookie under the chair and I was on my hands and knees looking for it. Afraid I can’t move that quickly at the moment with this in the way,’ she said, patting her stomach.

Just like last time. I unlocked the door and rushed to the bottom of the garden, but like before, there was no one there. It was really odd – and a bit creepy. I went back into the house, locking the door behind me. My eyes panned round the outside space but there was definitely nobody lurking.

‘That’s freaked me out a bit. I’m not too thrilled about the idea of strange men just wandering into people’s gardens, especially when they’re right next to mine.’

Lucy frowned. ‘It’s a bit weird, if someone walked in off the street, I’ll give you that. D’you think he knows the old woman?’