Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Juliette dropped onto the settee with a grateful sigh. She reached for her glass of wine and took a sip. Today had been a good day and she decided to celebrate on her own.
She had secured three clients that morning, on a monthly retainer.
Retainers gave her the peace of mind that money would be coming in on a regular basis, at least for the foreseeable future.
Working for yourself was most people’s dream but the reality was a lot harder than it seemed.
Often in her line of work it was feast or famine when it came to earning money.
She saved a lot in preparation, but it sometimes meant she didn’t treat herself enough as she was wary of spending too much.
Juliette was getting used to the house now.
Most things had been unpacked and put in their place, only the odd box hanging around in the garage.
They’d yet to decorate it to their taste but for now she was fine as most of the walls had been replastered and painted magnolia.
Before the house became theirs, the electrics had been renewed too.
Juliette was glad she hadn’t had to live through the mess of that.
It was nice to see familiar belongings in the living room that instantly made it feel like home. Two navy three-seaters, a coffee table in between. A yellow throw was over the one they hardly used, scatter cushions on them both.
The standard lamp in the corner had been a present from Danny’s parents. The canary yellow curtains they’d brought with them from their previous house had surprisingly fitted the large bay window at the front of the room, which itself threw sunlight across the room in the late afternoon.
She gazed at the collection of photos on the back wall.
Each one was of Emily on her birthdays. Juliette saw the smiles of delight on her daughter’s face on the fourth one.
The look of glee as she was ready to blow out the candles on her caterpillar cake.
She was such a beautiful child. Never in her wildest dreams did Juliette think she wouldn’t get to see her fifth year out.
Before she started to feel too low, she decided to see if Danny was around for a chat.
After catching up with him on the phone, she was watching a rerun of Midsomer Murders when she heard a sound that made her jump.
It was as if something, or someone had banged on a window.
She froze, listening for it to happen again.
When it didn’t, she sighed with relief. Perhaps it was next door, nothing to worry about.
When she heard it again, she sat up sharply.
It was the one thing she disliked about living alone.
An overactive imagination with every bang, creak or shout.
When Danny had first gone back to London, it had taken her an age to get used to the sighs of the house as it settled each night.
The noise from the traffic on the road was distant now, but back in the city it seemed to invade her mind and come into her bedroom.
Her senses had been on high alert and she’d often walked around during the night as she’d been unable to settle.
Hoping it was the neighbourhood cat who’d come to see if she’d left out any scraps, she got to her feet.
Holding her head high to feel more confident, she went through to the kitchen, the source of the sound.
She left off the light, seeing straight out into the dark.
The security light at the bottom of the garden had been set off.
She peered out but could see nothing. Perhaps it was the cat after all.
But as she turned away, she caught a shadow. Was someone out there? She covered her mouth, afraid to scream out. Even though she knew she shouldn’t scare herself, she stared out of the window again. Almost willing a shadow to move, or a figure to re-emerge. But nothing happened.
Had she seen someone?
If she had, whoever it might have been would be well gone now, she assumed, probably breaking into someone else’s property, whereas she would most likely be awake all night, listening to the same familiar noises over and over, waiting for a sign that something more sinister was going on.
She wanted to ring Danny again but knew it would worry him. What if she’d just seen a shadow? So she went to bed, closing the curtains with a quick look outside to see that all was well.
In the morning, as she went downstairs, she spotted an envelope on the mat in the hallway. She picked it up to see it was addressed to no one. Inside was a typed note:
Be careful who you trust.
Juliette frowned. What was that all about? Her blood went cold as she searched out her phone and headed into the kitchen. On the side of the fridge was a magnet that she’d picked up with details of the local police number.
As she waited to be connected, she wondered if she was being silly bothering them, but equally if it made her feel better, it was the right thing to do, even if it did turn out to be her imagination playing tricks on her again. Better to be safe than sorry.
Someone had delivered that note.