Page 97 of Wild About You

As the volunteers drifted away and Tobias said goodnight, Callum and I carried on working at our desks, as though by mutual agreement. Every so often, I glanced outinto the darkness, as though that flash might pass by the window again. At 8pm, Cal came in.

‘It’s time to go home,’ he said. ‘Sitting here won’t bring him back. I know that dog and he’s a canny one. He’ll probably have made eyes at a stranger and is snoozing by someone’s fire as we speak. He’ll be back tomorrow.’

I nodded, suddenly unable to speak. Cal watched as I shut down my computer.

Back at the cottage, I checked the garden for the little beagle, even though he’d never visited me. Then I fell asleep on the sofa. I stayed there all night. At 8am I was woken by a text from Roshni.

Is he with you?

I blinked sleep from my eyes.

Hugo? No.

Not Hugo. Jamie.

I sat up.No?

‘I even checked with she-who-must-not-be-asked,’ said Roshni, when I got to the flat. ‘He messaged George at 11pm yesterday, said he would be back soon. But if he did come back, he went again. His bed hasn’t been slept in.’

‘We were fast asleep after the day looking for Hugo,’ saidGeorge. He ran a hand through his thick hair and it struck me how much like Jamie he looked in that moment. ‘What if he’s lost? What if he’s fallen? The weather forecast says it might snow.’

‘He knows the estate like the back of his hand,’ said Roshni. ‘You’ve said it a thousand times. He’s fit, strong and sensible.’

‘Accidents happen though, don’t they?’ said George tightly.

I looked at them both. ‘Have you messaged him this morning?’

‘Of course. It didn’t arrive,’ George said miserably.

It was then we heard the noise: the hallooing, a cheering. We ran to the window.

Callum stood on the forecourt, a bundle in his arms.

‘I’ve got him!’ he shouted, when George levered open the window. ‘I’ve got the little bugger. He’s fine!’

The bundle was Hugo. And he was very muddy indeed.

We all took off down the stairs at the sight of him.

‘I found him in the roots of the Mulholland Oak,’ said Cal, when we reached him. ‘I was driving around at first light.’

I snapped Hugo’s collar around his neck and clipped on his lead, before Cal put him down on the floor. Hugo looked up at us all, and wagged his tail.

‘Is it me, or does he look extremely pleased with himself?’ said Roshni.

‘Aye, he does.’ Cal looked down sternly at him. ‘I’ll givehim breakfast and a bath, then we’ll get him checked out at the vet.’

‘You’re amassive nuisance,’ said Roshni to Hugo. He looked into the middle distance as though she hadn’t said a thing.

‘Now all we’ve got to do is find my brother,’ said George. ‘At what point can you notify the police of a missing person?’

I closed my eyes against the tension in the air. Jamie. Missing.

‘I’ll google it,’ said Roshni. ‘And let’s convene a search party. Think about the routes he might have taken.’

‘None of the Land Rovers are out,’ said Cal. ‘Wherever he’s gone, he’s walked. I’ll go and get an estate map so we can make plans.’

‘Excellent. Thank you.’ Roshni put an arm around George and he rested his head on her shoulder. ‘Any ideas about where he might go, my love?’

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