appreciatively. It’s so great to finally have someone I can talk to about this stuff. Holly doesn’t seem to think I’m mad, and with her help, I may finally have the upper hand.
“And in the meantime, it would be best if you keep your distance from this girl.”
“That’s easier said than done. She’s got in pretty deep with my friends.”
“Well, you be careful. And whatever you do, don’t let her know we’re investigating her. It sounds like she could be dangerous.”
Her words send a chill down my spine… I’m not imagining it, then.
Three Hours Later
“Are you sure you can’t stay another night?” Holly asks, as I collect up all my stuff. “We’d love to have you.”
“I wish I could, but I’ve got work in the morning.”
I peer through the window. It’s already getting dark outside.
“Well, take care, then.” Holly says. “It was lovely to meet you.”
“You too. You’d better hang on to this one,” I whisper to Julio, as I hug him goodbye.
The roads are eerily empty on the way home. There is nothing but a series of cat’s eyes that stretch out in front of me in the darkness. I turn on the radio for company but I can’t help feeling that something isn’t quite right. There are hardly any cars on the road, yet the one behind me has been tailgating for a while now. I glance in my mirror, but I can’t make out the driver’s face. Are they watching me or the road?
Five minutes pass and then ten. The car is still right behind me, uncomfortably close. This isn’t right. I’m starting to get really freaked out.
I just have to make it to the next services. Then I’ll be safe.
It seems like forever before the knife and fork sign looms out of the darkness. I wait until the last possible moment to indicate, and then spin off to the left. For one, heart-stopping moment it seems like the white car is going to follow, and then the driver seems to change their mind. They swerve back onto the main road, and I heave a huge sigh of relief.
Feeling rather wobbly, I pump some petrol into my car and get a latte from the shop. But as I sit, sipping my drink at the counter, my uneasiness returns. It’s so dead out here that the few people who are around seem very sinister. I take a final gulp of my drink and toss the paper cup into the bin.
As the roads are so empty, I take a liberal interpretation of the speed limits for the rest of the drive home. At last, the lights of Queensbeach twinkle tantalizingly on the horizon. I wind down my window and gulp down big breaths of sea air.
I pull up outside my house and hurry up the path, not even bothering to get my overnight bag. I ram the key in the lock and throw open the door. I am about to switch on the lights on when I hear a creaking sound coming from upstairs.
“Fluffy?”
There is a loud thud. That’s no cat , I realise, my heart in my mouth. There’s someone in my house !
Chapter Ten
I freeze.
What should I do?
I stand stock-still and listen. Whoever it is has gone silent.
With shaking hands, I reach for my mobile, but something stops me before I hit the third 9. The police have not exactly been my friends lately. I’d better handle this on my own.
I let out the breath I’ve been holding. I shouldn’t go up there, I know I shouldn’t. And yet I have to. I creep into the kitchen and grab the largest knife I can find. I grip the handle tightly as I steal up the stairs, wincing at every creak.
I pause at the top of the stairs. A shaft of light spills out from under my bedroom door.
Someone’s in there.
I edge my way along the cold, dimly lit hallway, my breath coming in short, sharp gasps. Then I burst into the room, hoping to catch whoever it is by surprise. As I do so, the knife slips from my grasp and clatters loudly to the floor. I grab it quickly, scanning the room urgently with my eyes. The bed is made, the curtains drawn and the nightstand just as I left it. I throw open the wardrobe door and rifle
“And in the meantime, it would be best if you keep your distance from this girl.”
“That’s easier said than done. She’s got in pretty deep with my friends.”
“Well, you be careful. And whatever you do, don’t let her know we’re investigating her. It sounds like she could be dangerous.”
Her words send a chill down my spine… I’m not imagining it, then.
Three Hours Later
“Are you sure you can’t stay another night?” Holly asks, as I collect up all my stuff. “We’d love to have you.”
“I wish I could, but I’ve got work in the morning.”
I peer through the window. It’s already getting dark outside.
“Well, take care, then.” Holly says. “It was lovely to meet you.”
“You too. You’d better hang on to this one,” I whisper to Julio, as I hug him goodbye.
The roads are eerily empty on the way home. There is nothing but a series of cat’s eyes that stretch out in front of me in the darkness. I turn on the radio for company but I can’t help feeling that something isn’t quite right. There are hardly any cars on the road, yet the one behind me has been tailgating for a while now. I glance in my mirror, but I can’t make out the driver’s face. Are they watching me or the road?
Five minutes pass and then ten. The car is still right behind me, uncomfortably close. This isn’t right. I’m starting to get really freaked out.
I just have to make it to the next services. Then I’ll be safe.
It seems like forever before the knife and fork sign looms out of the darkness. I wait until the last possible moment to indicate, and then spin off to the left. For one, heart-stopping moment it seems like the white car is going to follow, and then the driver seems to change their mind. They swerve back onto the main road, and I heave a huge sigh of relief.
Feeling rather wobbly, I pump some petrol into my car and get a latte from the shop. But as I sit, sipping my drink at the counter, my uneasiness returns. It’s so dead out here that the few people who are around seem very sinister. I take a final gulp of my drink and toss the paper cup into the bin.
As the roads are so empty, I take a liberal interpretation of the speed limits for the rest of the drive home. At last, the lights of Queensbeach twinkle tantalizingly on the horizon. I wind down my window and gulp down big breaths of sea air.
I pull up outside my house and hurry up the path, not even bothering to get my overnight bag. I ram the key in the lock and throw open the door. I am about to switch on the lights on when I hear a creaking sound coming from upstairs.
“Fluffy?”
There is a loud thud. That’s no cat , I realise, my heart in my mouth. There’s someone in my house !
Chapter Ten
I freeze.
What should I do?
I stand stock-still and listen. Whoever it is has gone silent.
With shaking hands, I reach for my mobile, but something stops me before I hit the third 9. The police have not exactly been my friends lately. I’d better handle this on my own.
I let out the breath I’ve been holding. I shouldn’t go up there, I know I shouldn’t. And yet I have to. I creep into the kitchen and grab the largest knife I can find. I grip the handle tightly as I steal up the stairs, wincing at every creak.
I pause at the top of the stairs. A shaft of light spills out from under my bedroom door.
Someone’s in there.
I edge my way along the cold, dimly lit hallway, my breath coming in short, sharp gasps. Then I burst into the room, hoping to catch whoever it is by surprise. As I do so, the knife slips from my grasp and clatters loudly to the floor. I grab it quickly, scanning the room urgently with my eyes. The bed is made, the curtains drawn and the nightstand just as I left it. I throw open the wardrobe door and rifle
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