No Place Like Home by Lynda Stacey

Author:Lynda Stacey [Stacey, Lynda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Boldwood Books

24

With a cautious glance at Carol Cooper’s house, Molly was immediately aware that something was wrong.

There was a Qashqai parked on the drive and three pints of milk all scattered on the doorstep. One glass bottle that still looked fresh. Another leaned against the step, half lying down, its silver top pecked at by birds, the milk inside vastly diminished, and the third had completely toppled. The milk had spilled, and a ginger cat was crouched beside it, licking hungrily at the spillage. As Molly pushed at the gate, the cat sped across the drive, found a safe place to hide below the car, and eyed her suspiciously.

‘Who you lookin’ for?’ An abrupt Yorkshire voice came from a man in the next-door garden who limped toward the fence with his woollen hat pulled down over his ears and his scarf wrapped tightly around his face, leaving only the inquisitive look in his eyes for her to see.

With colour rising to her cheeks, and for something to do with her hands, she waved her phone around in the air, pointed to the screen, read from it. ‘Carol Cooper? I was sent her address,’ she lied, ‘I believe she lives here.’

‘Urgh,’ he huffed, ‘she certainly does. But you’ll have a job. No one’s seen her for days. I’ve been feeding her damn cat since last Friday, I have.’ He shook his head with annoyance. ‘If she’d said she was going away, I wouldn’t have minded. But to just up and go, well…’ He kicked out at the fence, stamped down his path, pulled open the wheelie bin lid and dropped a handful of rubbish inside. ‘It isn’t right, is it? If she was going away, she should have told me, left me some cat food, but this time, I’ve had to run up and down to the shop, and buy it myself and I haven’t got a car like she has, although,’ he looked thoughtful, ‘don’t know where the hell she’d have gone without the car.’

With a sense of unease, Molly waved a thank you, felt her legs begin to weaken. The man’s words, ‘No one’s seen her for days,’ played over and over in her mind. She remembered what Tasha had said, that Carol Cooper was always on time, that she’d never missed an appointment. Not until now. Grabbing hold of the car door handle, Molly dragged it open, felt her legs finally buckle as she dropped inside, locked the doors behind her.

Staring at the house, her head began to swim with a tidal wave of emotions as the ginger cat came from under the car, strolled towards her. It gave off a shrill and high-pitched squeal, arched its back. It was obviously loved and cared for, which made it even more improbable that Carol would have abandoned it.

Molly considered going to the shop, buying some food, even if that was just to save the old man from doing it. With her indecision, she began to twist her fingers together, wishing for pain.

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