Chapter 1
MICHELLE
T he rain drummed relentlessly against Michelle Singer’s windscreen. Even with the wipers on triple speed, they were fighting a losing battle against the downpour that had been hammering Crumbleton and the surrounding marshes for a solid week.
‘I should have listened to Mum,’ Michelle muttered, leaning forward until her nose was practically touching the glass. It was getting harder and harder to see where she was going… which was a definite drawback, considering the epic puddles that were busy taking over the narrow road.
Her mother had begged her to postpone this final trip back to her ex’s place to pick up her last few boxes, but Michelle had insisted on going. The longer she left it, the more likely it was that Lawrence would dump her precious belongings into a wheelie bin.
‘Git!’ she sighed.
Still, at least he’d been out when she arrived at the house. His house. She couldn’t believe how tough it had been to walk back into the place she’d thought of as her “forever home” just a handful of weeks ago.
New carpets, beautiful bedding, stunning kitchen… and now they were all his!
Michelle shook her head and did her best to focus. She needed to keep her wits about her in this weather. The last thing she wanted to do was end up aquaplaning into a ditch! The marshes had a horrible habit of eating things when they were this waterlogged.
The thought sent a shudder through her, and she winced as she navigated yet another enormous puddle. Dirty water splashed up the sides of her ancient banger, and she gritted her teeth, praying the puddle didn’t get any deeper.
Unfortunately, it was a little bit too late to start double-guessing her earlier over-confidence…
You know all the back roads, Michelle.
You’ll be fine, Michelle.
‘You’re an idiot, Michelle!’ she muttered.
Why did she have to be so stubborn?!
Of course, the truth was that Michelle did know all the roads around Crumbleton.
She’d grown up watching her dad, Brian Singer—taxi driver extraordinaire—negotiating every shortcut, back route and scenic diversion the area had to offer.
She’d absorbed his knowledge of the roads like a sponge, and she’d been using them herself since the day she passed her test.
But tonight was different.
Tonight, the familiar landscape had transformed into a treacherous, watery obstacle course, and Michelle was starting to think she’d made a terrible mistake.
It had been a long drive to Lawrence’s place, and the return journey had felt even longer. But she was nearly back in Crumbleton. Just a few more miles, and she would be… home?
No, that word no longer applied to her mum and dad’s little cottage at the foot of the hill. That said, she wasn’t sure it applied to anywhere anymore.
Michelle’s lip gave a pathetic little quiver, but she bit it hard and shook her head angrily. Nope, she wasn’t going to start moping again. She’d done more than enough of that recently.
Besides, she needed to focus on getting back to Crumbleton safely. There would be plenty of time to sit and ponder the exact moment her life had started to implode when she was warm and dry… preferably with a mug of something comforting in her hands!
‘Quit it!’ she grumbled, as the rain re-doubled its efforts.
Michelle was definitely starting to regret her chosen route. She’d taken the back road that wound its way past Crumbleton Clump because it usually stayed drier than the main road into town.
Usually being the operative word.
‘Uh oh!’
Her headlights had just found another massive puddle ahead. This one looked different, though. Bigger. Deeper. More like a small lake than a puddle.
For a brief moment, she considered turning back. But the road was too narrow to make an easy turn, and the verges were sodden. She’d probably just get stuck. Besides, she’d already braved half a dozen decent-sized puddles without any problems. What was one more?
‘It probably looks worse than it is,’ she said, doing her best to convince herself and the car. ‘Just take it nice and slow, exactly like Dad taught you.’
Her father’s familiar voice echoed in her head. ‘Steady does it, Shelly. No need to rush. The car knows what to do. You just need to guide it through.’
He’d taught her to drive in his old taxi, patiently sitting beside her as she bunny-hopped her way along the marsh road and back again. Despite the occasional exasperated sigh, he’d never shouted or lost his temper.
Michelle eased her foot off the accelerator, shifted into first gear, and inched forward. Her heart leapt into her throat as the water splashed up around the bonnet.
This was seriously deep.
‘Oh no, oh no, oh no,’ she chanted, her fingers gripping the steering wheel so tightly that her knuckles turned white. The car made a sound like an asthmatic walrus, but it kept moving forward, inch by terrifying inch.
Just when she was sure the engine was about to give up the ghost, the front wheels left the puddle. With a final, desperate splutter, the little car hauled itself out of the water.
‘See?’ said Michelle, her voice decidedly shaky. ‘Told you we’d be fine.’
As if to punish her for her premature relief, the car’s engine promptly let out another long wheeze. The dashboard lights flickered ominously.
‘No, no, no!’ cried Michelle. There was a tiny layby to the right a little way ahead. She steered towards it as the engine coughed and spluttered. ‘Come on, don’t do this to me.’
As if on cue, the car gave a final gasp of protest and died completely. Luckily, there was still just enough momentum to coast off the road and into the layby before she rolled to a complete, silent stop.
For a long moment, Michelle just sat there listening to the persistent drumming of the rain on the roof.
‘Damn,’ she breathed.
Then she slammed her palm against the steering wheel… instantly regretting it as a sharp pain shot up her wrist. Shaking it out, she glared at the unresponsive dashboard.
Dead. Not even any warning lights!
‘Now what?’
Michelle leaned back in her seat and tried to assess the situation. She was stuck on a back road that very few people used. It was pitch black outside and still raining heavily.
Well, there was nothing for it. She was going to have to call for help. Grabbing her handbag from the passenger seat, she rummaged around until she found her phone. The question was… who could she call?
The obvious choice would be her dad, but tonight was darts night. His phone would be off. It meant her mum wouldn’t be any help either, as she’d be in the Dolphin and Anchor showing her support while nursing a ginormous G&T.
‘Who else?’
If Murray Eddington, the Marsh Ranger, was currently at home on his stranded trawler, he was probably the nearest living soul to her sad little layby.
Even so, there was no way Michelle was about to call him for help—not when he’d have to row through the treacherous, swirling floodwaters just to reach her.
But if not her parents or Murray… then who?!
‘Caroline Cook?’
Michelle cocked her head while she considered it. Her old friend might be one of the most capable people she’d ever met, but somehow, she had a feeling that even Caroline might struggle to help her out of her current predicament.
Michelle flicked her phone on, hoping to find inspiration in her contacts list. Unfortunately, instead of inspiration, she found desperation.
‘No signal? Are you serious right now?!’
She waved the phone above her head… but no luck. She was well and truly on her own.
Perhaps she could fix the problem herself?
Michelle tried to remember what her dad had told her about water damage to engines.
Something about not trying to restart it right away?
Or was that the opposite of what you were supposed to do?
She wasn’t mechanically minded, despite her dad’s best efforts to teach her the basics of car maintenance.
That said, Michelle had a feeling that even her dad would struggle to repair a waterlogged engine in the pouring rain… in the dark… with no tools.
Slumping in her seat, Michelle rested her head against the steering wheel as a wave of self-pity washed over her.
This was just typical, wasn’t it? If there was a puddle to be found, her car would find it.
If there was a back road that led nowhere, she’d take it.
If there was a way to end up stranded in the back end of beyond, she’d discover it.
‘Some things never change,’ she mumbled into her uncomfortable pillow.
For as long as Michelle could remember, her mum’s pet name for her had been Chaos Magnet.
The moniker had certainly fit the bill nicely during her teenage years when she’d lurched from one minor disaster to another.
Even though she’d do practically anything to shrug off the fond but annoying label, at twenty-eight, Michelle had to admit she still managed to attract more than her fair share of mishaps.
Perhaps that was part of the reason she’d spent so much time bigging up her life with Lawrence. It had been nice to tell her parents about something that was going well for a change… a habit she hadn’t been able to drop even when things started to go sideways.
Michelle winced. She’d been so happy, so excited, so glad to tell her mum and dad about her new house and new carpet and perfect boyfriend.
Of course, the downside of waxing lyrical quite so thoroughly was that she was having a tough time getting them to understand why she’d left this “god-among-men”.
The last thing Michelle wanted to do was share the sordid details.
Unfortunately, that meant her parents were still very much Team Lawrence.
They kept trying to not-so-subtly encourage her to seek a reconciliation.
Somehow, she had a feeling they’d be singing a different tune if they knew about his regular naked-bouncy-time with his receptionist.
Even so, Michelle simply couldn’t bring herself to tell them the truth. She was having a hard enough time dealing with the fact that she hadn’t been able to make it work. She didn’t need to see the disappointment on her parents’ faces, too.
As for telling them she’d walked out on her well-paying, soul sucking job on the same day she’d left Lawrence… that was going to take some serious liquid courage! As far as her parents were aware, right now, she was busy taking all her annual leave in one great big chunk.
Her lies were really starting to pile up.
‘Enough!’ she groaned.
Her current predicament was bad enough without inviting a big fat dollop of misery to hang out with her while she was stranded.
With a huge sigh, Michelle straightened up again and stared out at the rain, watching as it bounced off the bonnet. Maybe she should give it one more go? Perhaps the engine might have dried out a bit by now…
Crossing her fingers, Michelle turned the key in the ignition. The engine didn’t even attempt to turn over. It was well and truly dead.
‘Balls.’
Defeat washed over her, but there was no point getting worked up, was there? No amount of swearing was going to get the thing started. It was time to face facts.
She was stuck. In the dark. In the middle of nowhere. In the rain.
Perfect.
Maybe I should walk?
‘No chance!’
Walking in this weather, along flooded roads in the dark, was a recipe for disaster.
She had no torch, nothing high-vis, and absolutely no desire to stumble around in the marshes at night.
Nope, that definitely wasn’t an option. She’d simply have to stay put and hope against hope that someone would drive by.
Michelle reached for her handbag again and rummaged around for anything that might be useful. Her fingers closed around a packet of mints, a hairbrush, a half-empty water bottle, and finally, a slightly squashed bar of chocolate.
‘Small mercies!’ It might not be a three-course feast, but the gleaming purple wrapper promised a sweet, comforting hug. And right now, that was just what she needed.
As she chewed, Michelle tried to focus on the positives.
She was safe, if a bit chilly, she had a small amount of food and water, and her car was off the road, so if anyone did drive by, they wouldn’t crash into her.
Plus, her parents were bound to notice she hadn’t returned when they got home from the pub…
surely they’d come looking for her… eventually!
‘Fantastic,’ she sighed, taking another tiny bite of chocolate. ‘Just fantastic.’
The minutes crawled by, turning into an hour, then two. Michelle alternated between staring out at the rain, checking her phone for signal, and trying—unsuccessfully—to restart the car.
When the chill of the dark, damp evening found its way beneath her jeans and jumper, she shuffled between the front seats and grabbed an ancient blanket from one of the boxes in the back.
Wrapping it around herself, she let out a sigh of relief.
So what if it smelled a bit dusty… it was better than shivering in the dark!
Still the rain showed no signs of letting up. If anything, it seemed to be getting heavier, drumming on the roof of the car like an impatient visitor.
Michelle was just starting to drift off into an uncomfortable doze when a flash of light caught her attention. For a moment, she thought she’d imagined it—a dream, or perhaps the storm had decided to add some lightning to the mix for fun?
‘Wait… what?’ she breathed as a second flash illuminated the chilly interior of the little car.
Michelle scrambled around to peer through the rain-streaked rear windscreen.
That wasn’t lightning… that was...
‘Headlights? Oh, thank goodness!’