The Book Swap by J.E. Rowney

Author:J.E. Rowney [Rowney, J.E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: psychological thriller, domestic thriller, domestic, thriller, Thrillers & Suspense, suspense
Publisher: Little Fox Publishing
Published: 2022-08-25T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Once they had the address, finding the house was simple. Carley tapped the postcode into her phone and let the map come up with the route. It was a five-minute drive from the street she had parked on.

She slipped the car into gear and the two of them set off to finally reach their destination.

Before they had even arrived at the property, Laura was forming an impression of the area. The roads nearest to the charity shop had been red brick terraces, but as they headed along and off the main road, they turned onto an avenue boarded by grass verges to each side, with larger semi-detached houses.

Carley turned into Radley Street and said to Laura, “Watch out for number 46. That’s 4, so it should be on your side.”

“Okay,” Laura tried to speak, but the word came out as a dry rasp.

“You all right?” Carley said.

“Yeah,” Laura cleared her throat. “Well, you know. Wondering what’s going to happen, but otherwise I’m all right.”

“I am too,” Carley said. “I know I might look like I’m being all confident and that, but I probably feel just the same as you.”

“Stop,” Laura said. “It’s this one.”

Carley pulled over, just ahead of the house they were looking for, far enough away to be out of view from the front windows of the building.

Once they had stopped, she turned to Laura.

“If you feel uncomfortable or worried at any time when we get there, just tell me, okay? And I’ll do the same. We’re here to help someone, but we need to look out for ourselves and each other, too.”

“Yes, okay,” Laura agreed. “Is it silly if we have a sign or something? Just in case?”

“Just in case of what?” she thought again for the second time that week.

“That’s a good idea,” Carley said. She thought for a second and then suggested, “Hold your hand like this.” She made a loose fist and tucked her thumb between her first and middle fingers. “I used to have a habit of doing this when I was a kid. Drove my mum nuts for absolutely no idea that I could ever work out. Might come in useful now, though. It’s not very obvious, and we’ll know to look out for it.”

Laura looked at Carley’s hand and mimicked the action.

“Feels weird,” she smiled. “But okay, that should work.”

She took a couple of deep breaths, unconcerned by what Carley would think of this show of nervousness. They were in it together.

Carley extended out her arms in front of her, interlocking and stretching her fingers, as though she were warming up to play the piano. Then she dropped her hands onto her lap, relaxed.

“Ready?” she asked.

“As ready as I’m ever going to be,” Laura said.

Carley gave a single nod and then pushed open the door and got out of the car.

Laura sucked in a final deep breath – in through the nose, out through the mouth – and joined her friend on the pavement. They were finally standing outside number 46, at what they thought was the end of the trail.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.