48

 

HURRICANE POINT HOUSE, THURSDAY EVENING

Gwen stood outside on her deck, gazing into the night, looking for the solace it normally offered, waiting for an elusive calm to descend. She felt exposed, swimming in a sea of lies. Not drowning. Not yet. She blew out a heavy breath. Leo trotted out behind her. She reached down to stroke him, noticed that he was standing alert. He started to growl, a low rumbling. Leo never growled. Maybe at skunks. Only at skunks, and from a safe distance.

“What’s up boy?” Gwen asked, her neck tingling. Leo kept up his growling, eyes staring into the darkness.

Gwen felt a raw, instinctive fear. This was no skunk. Someone was there in the darkness, beyond her line of vision. She could feel an alien presence, almost as keenly as Leo now that he had alerted her. She imagined someone there, eyes fixed on her. Behind her, the house was all lit up, illuminating her and her dog like figures on a target.

She wheeled round, grabbed Leo’s collar, pulled him into her house. Leo did not stop growling as she closed and locked the door behind her, pulled shut the curtains she rarely used, closed and locked all the windows.

Shit, shit, shit. She never felt scared here. Cursing, she called Daniel on his cell. It rang and rang. No answer.