CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Pauline and Nigel were quite surprised to see me back so early.
After Ellie had greeted us at the door, apologising for having to cancel on us, we’d called at the Swan Hotel bar on Sunnybrook High Street for one drink before heading home. So it wasn’t even nine o’clock by the time I arrived home.
‘I hope she behaved for you?’ I smiled, as the pair got up to greet me.
‘Oh, she was lovely, bless her,’ said Pauline cheerfully as she searched for her handbag. ‘We had a riotous time with her daft board games.’
‘Best laugh I’ve had a for a while,’ agreed Nigel. ‘Pauline took her up to bed about half an hour ago.’
‘Hope that wasn’t too late,’ said Pauline, wincing apologetically.
I laughed. ‘No, no. She was obviously having a great time with you so I wouldn’t have wanted to spoil the party!’
‘Well, when I checked on her a minute ago, she was fast asleep, hugging her bear.’ Pauline smiled at her husband. ‘We’re always happy to babysit, aren’t we, Nigel?’
‘Absolutely. Any time you need us.’ Spotting the handbag on the floor by the sofa, he held it up for Pauline with a smile. ‘This what you’re looking for?’
‘Thanks, love.’ At the door, she confided, ‘We really miss the grandchildren. Manchester’s not very handy for seeing them regularly. So it’s lovely to spend time with Amelie. She’s such a little angel.’
I chuckled. ‘She can also be a little devil at times. But I’m very glad she was good for you tonight.’
‘She was,’ said Nigel. ‘And by the way, compliments to the chef.’ He grinned. ‘That curry was absolutely first class. You can definitely count on two more market day customers.’
Pauline nodded. ‘We’re going to drive along to Lockley Meadow tomorrow, so we’ll see you then.’
Feeling grateful to have such fabulous neighbours, I waved them off and retreated inside.
Knowing there were people around who you could turn to in an emergency was such a comfort.
I climbed the stairs and checked on Amelie, and was glad to see that she was still curled up fast asleep with her favourite bear.
Despite the evening not going to plan, it had been lovely to go out for a change and spend time with the others, and I refused to let Clare’s sudden appearance get me down.
I was still convinced the anonymous note was from her. Clare could be sneaky and quite scheming at times. I knew that from past experience. Although why she’d send me such a sinister note, I had no idea. Perhaps she was still annoyed at me for leaving Brighton in a hurry the way I did.
Sending an anonymous letter was rather a cowardly act, though. I’d have respected her more if she’d decided to find out when I was on shift at the café so she could confront me in person.
A familiar feeling of dread settled inside me. She couldn’t possibly have found out why I left. Could she?
But I wasn’t going to think about Clare.
Back downstairs, I made a mug of tea and sat for a moment at the table, looking around the cosy kitchen, my eye drawn as always at night to the lamp on the worktop in the corner, which cast a mellow glow on the pretty vase nearby.
Mum and Malcolm knew I loved the art deco style of pottery designer Clarice Cliff and they’d bought the boldly colourful vase at auction and given it to me as a house-warming gift when I moved in here.
Splashed with crocuses in shades of red and blue, it was my most precious possession.
Thinking of Mum and Malcolm, my eyes filled with happy tears.
Soon, they’d be back living close by. I couldn’t wait for them to sell their business and return to the UK, and I knew Amelie was equally excited at the prospect of seeing her granny and grandad much more often.
They were planning to buy a house in the area and I was already peering eagerly into estate agent’s windows looking for suitable properties, even though I knew it would be some time before the business was sold and their cash unlocked...
Something rattled at the window and I got up to close the blind.
It was raining now, the dwarf apple tree in the small front garden swaying about in the wind, and I thought how good it felt to be cosy indoors – knowing Amelie was tucked up, safe and warm in bed – as the storm that had been forecast for tonight brewed outside.
It was really the only time you could properly relax when you had small children... when they were asleep. I thought of Ellie and how amazingly she was coping with their new baby. Hopefully she’d catch up on sleep tonight and be raring to go in the morning with little Isla!
I was just pulling down the blind when something sharp – a stone? – hit the window.
Moving closer, I peered out.
It was dark out there, the nearest streetlight some distance away. But through the gloom, something odd caught my eye. A black shape just beyond the garden hedge.
But the rain was blurring my view. Surely it was my imagination? It was easy in the dark at night to imagine all sorts of weird things. It was probably just a shadow. It didn’t seem to be moving...
But then suddenly, it did, and my heart gave a great lurch of shock.
Frozen to the spot, I felt the fear clutch at my insides.
Someone had been standing there in the shadows, looking in at me. I could see them now, a hunched figure in a dark hoodie, walking swiftly away along the street.
A shiver ran through me.
Had they thrown the stone at the window to attract my attention? And why were they lurking there like that, just staring in? Was it to scare me?
I glanced anxiously upwards, picturing Amelie asleep.
Should I call the police?
But if I did, what would I say? That I’d seen someone loitering in the street outside my house but that they’d gone now?
I stood watching as the figure crossed the road diagonally.
And then a horrible thought occurred to me. Were they heading for my van that was parked on the opposite side, a little way along the street? It had been the only parking space left when I’d got back earlier.
Sure enough, the sinister figure was stopping right beside it, and to my horror, it looked as if they were trying the handle... attempting to break in and steal it...
The police!
I searched for my phone, finding it at last in my handbag on the worktop.
Then I realised it was no use phoning the emergency services because whoever it was out there would be long gone by the time they arrived.
I flung open the front door and peered into the night, along the street. It was raining harder now, the wind blowing a gale.
Hearing Amelie call out to me, I stopped.
She must have heard me open the front door.
So I dashed upstairs to reassure her I wasn’t going anywhere – only to find that she was still out for the count.
She must have called out in her sleep. She’d turned over in bed and her bear was now lying on the floor.
I listened to her steady breathing for a second, then I crept out of the room and closed the door. Running back downstairs, I rushed out into the night, praying the van would still be there.
Thankfully, it was. But as I crossed the road, my heart was thumping fast at the thought of what I might find.
I slowed down as I got nearer. There was no one sitting in the driver’s seat as I’d feared. In fact, there was no one there at all as I looked around me. The street was deserted.
Bemused by what had just happened, I retraced my steps as the gale almost whipped a flying plastic carrier bag in my face. I slipped back inside and closed the door softly but firmly behind me. Then I crept back upstairs to make sure Amelie was okay.
The wind was rattling one of her windows, which was open a crack. It always amazed me how children could sleep through noise like that. When I crossed the room to close it, the floor creaked but she still didn’t stir.
As I pulled the door to, leaving it open just a crack, I started to wonder if maybe my imagination had been playing tricks on me.
Clare’s sudden appearance and the anonymous note had spooked me a lot. Maybe this was the consequence... imagining things in the dark of the night that weren’t even there?
As I headed back downstairs, I was shaking my head at myself for being so melodramatic. I could feel my shoulders relaxing a little now that the panic was over, the doors were locked and we were safe inside.
I was a little surprised to see that the overhead light was on in the kitchen. I preferred the softer glow of a lamp at night but maybe I’d flicked the switch in my panic when I was peering outside?
Walking in, I froze to the spot in shock...