Stalked By Shadows Read Free

after eleven and the water bottle was empty, her head and neck aching from the tension. She climbed the stairs, brushed her teeth and lay down on the bed fully clothed, feeling too vulnerable to undress. Instead she lay on top of the bed, in the foetal position, biting on a thumbnail, listening and waiting, her ears straining to catch the slightest sound; the occasional car going past, local teenagers coming home from an evening out, the volume of their footsteps and voices increasing before dying away, with the distant slamming of doors. The wind howled around the house, bowling over a milk bottle with a clatter, and Lucy heard it roll away down the drive. She should go and retrieve it, but it would mean going outside, and the prospect petrified her.
     
    PC Solomon had decided to take action. Scrabbling up the flimsy planks of the gate, he had managed to get a toehold for his size-thirteen boot on the narrow lock mechanism.
    Things started to go downhill when he swung his left leg over the top, catching his thigh on a protruding nail, ripping a hole in his trousers and gouging his flesh in the process. But now he was, at least, no longer alone. First off he’d found Nina Silvero. After landing hard on the block-paved patio, his trouser leg flapping, he’d walked round to the kitchen window and peered in. It was what the DIY stores always described as a farmhouse kitchen, pretty big, with ornate pine cupboards and a wooden table in the middle. Among other things on the table was a bottle of wine and a single glass, but no sign of -
    It was then that he glanced down to the floor and saw the foot sticking out from behind one of the chairs. It was attached to a leg, Nina Silvero’s leg, it seemed reasonable to assume. And it was lying very still. Solomon took off his jacket, wound it around his fist for protection and moved towards the window.
     
    At midnight Lucy started as her mobile trilled on the nightstand beside her.
    ‘Hey.’
    ‘Hey.’ She had to stifle a sob of relief.
    This time the background noise was chatter and tinny music. Will was in a bar or a club, female voices close by. ‘I tried the land line,’ he said, ‘couldn’t get through.’
    ‘I unplugged it. I had another call.’ She couldn’t keep the tremor from her voice.
    Will’s voice remained level. ‘OK, stay calm. What did he say?’
    ‘Nothing; that’s the point, it’s just that horrible noise.’ She wanted him to say that he would drive home right now and take care of her, but it wasn’t Will’s style.
    ‘Come on, honey. It’s just kids, fooling around. Don’t let it get to you.’ He wasn’t taking her seriously.
    ‘Perhaps I should go to the police.’ The idea had come to her suddenly.
    ‘And tell them what? That you’ve had a couple of crazy phone calls?’
    ‘It’s more than a couple, and someone’s following me.’
    ‘You’re sure about that?’
    Was she?
    ‘Well, I can’t be absolutely certain, but -’
    ‘Don’t you think you’re overreacting a little? What can the police do anyway? I mean you haven’t actually seen anyone following you, have you? You’re tired, honey; you’ll feel better in the morning.’
    ‘Yes.’ And how would you know? A woman, or perhaps a girl, giggled very close to him. ‘Where are you?’ she asked.
    ‘In some bar.’ He was vague. ‘We’re having a bite before we get back to the hotel. It was a terrific gig tonight. Listen, you try to get some sleep, huh, and I’ll see you tomorrow.’
    ‘OK. Safe journey.’
    ‘Sure. ’Night, babe.’
    The woman’s voice cut in even before he’d switched off his phone. Lucy didn’t like to speculate about who she might be. And she could have been mistaken, but she was sure what the woman said was ‘Kiss me, baby’ . Maybe she wasn’t talking to Will. There were others there; must be. But now a different unease began to nibble at Lucy.
    Normally after a gig, Will went straight back to his hotel. Socialising with the band was a