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Chapter 8
She woke feeling muzzy. Outside in the garden, the scream of the foxes had been replaced by the screams of children playing. Her pyjama top flapped open as she climbed out of bed en-route to the bathroom.
"I must have been sleepy last night," she thought, buttoning it up.
There was a rudimentary shower and the water was not piping hot. Alice didn't mind as it shocked her into wakefulness. She checked the clock on the mantelpiece in the bedroom. It was half-past nine and a lovely morning so she decided to go for a walk up the hill to look at the riding stables. It was a very pleasant bridleway with daffodils and primroses everywhere and there was the heady smell of fir trees in the air.
The riding stables were not large. There were just two buildings. The first was obviously a dwelling and the other was home to the horses. Jack was there and busy making some adjustments to the harness of one of the horses. He grinned when he saw her and Alice smiled back. There were three other horses saddled up for a family on holiday.
"All horses taken, I'm afraid, this morning," said Jack.
"Never mind, perhaps some other time."
"I'll be a couple of hours but, if you're here when I get back, I could give you a canter around the meadow."
"I'll see if I feel up to it."
Jack leaned over and clasped Alice on the shoulder. It was an action of familiarity that quite startled her.
"I'll perhaps see you later."
In one easy movement, Jack was astride his horse and cantering away with the others in lazy pursuit.
Alice watched them into the distance until they were swallowed up amid the green of the bushes and trees. She could still feel his hand upon her shoulder.
"Too familiar by half," she thought to herself.
She walked casually through the connecting arch between the house and the stables. The view over the valley was stunning. She could see clearly where the small stream in the valley met up with the river that led to the sea only a few miles away.
She walked to the end of the patio. The house where she was staying seemed very small below. The children she had shooed away that morning were back swinging from a rope under the apple tree again, yelling with excitement.
Alice walked to the other end of the patio to see if there was any sign of the horses but they were nowhere to be seen.
"Two hours," she said to herself, thoughtfully.
The front door leading into the house from the patio was locked. Alice casually wandered back towards the stables end. There was another door that led to a storage area filled with patio furniture. There were some plastic chairs, a plastic table and a metal barbeque neatly stacked waiting for a party. A shelf ran above head height around the small room neatly stacked with gardening odds and ends.
Alice pulled out one of the chairs and stood on it, wobbling. She didn't feel very safe but the light of the small window enabled her to see to the top of the shelf.
"Well done Alice," she said to herself as she spotted the key.
"Not brilliant thinking, young Jack," she said as if talking to him. "The location of the key was obvious. Either you've got nothing of value or you've got nothing to hide, young man."
She slipped the key into her pocket and wandered back to the other side of the property for a final check. Nobody was in sight. Casually she returned to the front door. The key slipped in easily and the door swung open.
"Aren't you a tidy young man Jack." Alice surveyed the hall. It was spic and span, well up to Alice's own standards.
"A cleaning lady, if I'm not mistaken," guessed Alice as she returned the key to where she had found it. If anybody interrupted her she could say the door was open. Back in the house again, she browsed from room to room. It had the mark of a bachelor. There were no flowers in vases or cookery books in the kitchen. But there were drinks in the cabinet and the three double bedrooms were made up and tidy, one obviously put together hurriedly this morning after use. Alice was tempted to tuck it in properly but resisted her instinct.
"You'd never make a proper burglar," Alice, she reprimanded herself. "You'd be too busy tidying up!"
She drifted back to his bedroom again, savouring the room and the man that lived there with all her senses alert. She opened the fitted wardrobe.
"Ah ha! So that's where you keep the pictures of your girl friends. Out of sight of visitors in case you get lucky. Top marks, this time, my boy."
There were several photographs in a line above the hanging jackets and suits. One was particularly interesting. It appeared to have been taken on the patio and showed a group lounging in the sun. Jack wasn't there. Perhaps he was taking the picture but Estelle was there cool and serious in her blue bikini and drinking from a long glass filled with crushed ice.
Her face troubled Alice. Unlike the others of the group, she wasn't smiling.
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