Forty-Six
‘Sally? Hello, Sally… are you there? Sally?’
Matt looked at his phone and then put it back to his ear.
‘Sally?’
Suddenly the call ended. He swiped the screen and tried to call her back. He wasn’t surprised the call had cut out – the signal out at the B&B could occasionally be hit-and-miss in good weather so, in the pouring rain, it would be next to abysmal. He’d give her a few minutes to get indoors and dried off before calling her back on the landline.
He wandered through to the kitchen, switched on the kettle and looked out of the window as he waited for it to boil. The rain was bouncing off the glass and he could hear the wind whistling around the corner as it flew towards the trees at the bottom of the garden, making them dance a furious, swirling, jig.
The kettle popped off and after dropping a teabag in a mug, he absentmindedly poured the boiling water, while his mind played over the drop-out of his call with Sally. He felt an unease in his stomach which he was trying to explain away by reminding himself that dropped calls were not unusual on mobile phones.
He finished making his drink and dialled the landline for the B&B as he walked into the lounge. The phone was ringing by the time he sat down.
It was still ringing when he took his first sip of the hot liquid and had clicked over to voicemail when he took his second. He terminated the call and tried again when three minutes had passed. Voicemail again. He stood up as his earlier feeling of concern returned even stronger. There were three landline handsets located throughout the B&B – there was no way Sally could miss the call.
Just then, the front door slammed and he rushed out into the hallway to find Flora peeling off her wet Barbour jacket before looking in the mirror and running her fingers through her damp pixie crop.
‘Hey, Dad, what a night! Was this predicted in the weather reports? I know they mentioned rain but…’
Her voice trailed off when she turned to look at him.
‘Dad, what’s wrong?’
‘Sally. I can’t get a hold of Sally on the phone. We were talking, she was on her mobile when there was a noise and then the line went dead. I’ve tried calling her back but there’s no reply.’
‘Dad, you know how rubbish the signal can be over there. Try her on the landline.’
‘It’s the landline I’ve been calling.’
‘Oh!’
‘I don’t know what to do. Do you think I should go over?’
‘How long ago was this?’
Matt grabbed his phone and swiped through to see what the time had been when they’d been talking.
‘Just over twenty minutes.’
‘Maybe she decided to have a shower to warm up and she didn’t hear the phone ringing. Give it ten minutes and try again.’
‘Hmm, yes, maybe she did…’
‘Dad,’ Flora came over and laid her hand on his arm, ‘you don’t need to worry about everyone, you know. It’s lovely that you do but you need to give yourself a break.’
‘I’m just concerned because she’s out there on her own.’
‘But, she’s not alone, is she? Jools is only just across the courtyard. She’s closer in proximity to Sally than we are to Lynn and Joe Sleight and they’re our nearest neighbours. I’m sure she’s fine.’
‘Hmm…’
Matt could see the logic in Flora’s argument but he just couldn’t shake off the feeling of foreboding that was pressing down on him.
‘Look, give it another twenty minutes. Let me get out of these wet clothes and grab a shower. If she’s still not picking up after that, then we can take a drive over to check everything is okay. Yeah?’
He thought for a few seconds before nodding.
‘Okay. I’ll try again in a bit, just in case she is in the shower. You go and get yours, Flora, before you catch a chill. Put something warm on afterwards in case we do need to go out.’
When Flora came back downstairs a short time later, Matt was pacing up and down the length of the lounge.
‘Come on, answer, damn it!’
He was looking at his phone again as Flora walked in the door.
‘Still no joy?’
‘No! It’s still going to voicemail every time I call.’ He turned to look at Flora. ‘I’m really worried now. Something just doesn’t feel right. My gut is telling me something’s wrong.’
‘Then let’s get over there and see what’s going on.’
‘Look, you don’t need to come with me, Flora, there’s no point in dragging you back out again when you’ve just dried yourself off.’
‘Dad, we’re going together. End of discussion. Now, come on. The sooner we go, the sooner we can put your mind at rest.’
Five minutes later, as Flora plugged his phone into the car charger, Matt reversed out of the garage, spun the Land Rover sharply around, spewing gravel in its wake, and drove out of the gates as though all the demons of hell were on his heels.
‘Keep your eyes peeled for fallen trees, Flora, or any that look unsafe.’
‘Weren’t they all checked when you did the thinning out last year?’
‘Yes, but this wind could have weakened some of the older ones.’
Matt had just turned into the lane towards the B&B and the vibration of the wind rocking the Landy from side to side was doing nothing to help alleviate the sense of doom that was sitting like a brick in the pit of his stomach.
His sixth sense was screaming at him that something was wrong and he was dreading what he may, or may not, find at the end of the lane. He wanted to get to the house as quickly as possible yet, at the same time, he didn’t want to arrive because all his fears could become a reality.
A couple of minutes later, he bypassed the first turning which would take them into the guest car park at the front of the house and took the second turn which brought him to Sally’s private parking area. Her little red Focus was sitting neatly parked in its usual spot over beside the hedge and he could see the rescue van underneath the car port next to the quarantine building.
‘Well, that’s the first question answered, Dad, she’s definitely still here. Now we need to find out why she’s not been answering her phone.’
He got out of the Land Rover and was relieved to find the wind less forceful in this sheltered spot beside the house and the tall hedging.
‘Should we go to the side porch door or the back kitchen door?’
‘Hang on, Flora. Stay there and let me just have a look around her car first.’
Matt went to walk towards the Focus but then stopped still.
‘That’s strange,’ he muttered.
He turned and walked back to the Landy, opening the door at the back when he got there.
‘What’s up, Dad? Have you found something?’ Flora twisted around in her seat towards him.
‘No, Flora, I haven’t found anything yet because the security light hasn’t come on. I’m getting a torch to help me see. It’s pitch black out here.’
With a large torch now lighting his way, he walked back towards Sally’s car. He peered in through the passenger side window and saw Sally’s handbag lying on the driver’s seat with the contents spilling out onto the floor. He tried the handle of the door and it opened with ease. Matt stopped and closed it again. Finding the car unlocked now had his “something-is-very-wrong-ometer” rocketing sky-high.
He was about to step around to the driver’s side, his heart thudding in his chest, when Flora arrived back at his side.
‘I can’t see anything through the downstairs windows, Dad. The only light on is the one in the far corner which I know she keeps on a timer. I’ve tried knocking on both doors but there’s no reply.’
‘Stay behind me, Flora.’
‘Why?’
‘Just do as I ask.’
Holding his breath, he slowly moved around to the driver’s side of the car and dreading what he might see, pointed his torch towards the ground.