Page 20 of So That Happened
‘Hello, Guy, I’m staying with Connor Preston in the farmhouse over there,’ Josie said in French. ‘I would like to buy some eggs from you.’
The man gave her a slow up-and-down inspection.
‘Oui.’
His gaze lingered on her breasts and she had to work hard not to cross her arms defensively in front of her.
Great – a pervy farmer. Just what she needed.
‘Come to the runs with me. I need to collect them,’ he said, gesturing to the side of the house, where a collection of ramshackle barns and pens stood.
She followed Guy at a distance and watched as he checked the nests for newly laid eggs.
Walking back to her with a smile, he stood a little bit too close for comfort as he carefully put the eggs into the bag that she’d brought with her. He smelt of dirt and cigarettes and wrongness. Wrinkling her nose, she forced herself to stand still. She often found herself turned off people because they didn’t smell right, and he was definitely one of those people.
‘Thanks.’ She took a polite step away from him and handed over a five-euro note.
‘You want some change?’ he said, making it sound more as if he was asking her if she wanted a good seeing-to.
Her skin crawled at the thought.
‘No. Keep it,’ she said, backing away further and holding up a placatory hand.
‘How about a drink before you go?’ he asked.
She was feeling really uncomfortable now. It wasn’t as if she’d never been indirectly propositioned, but she was acutely aware of how alone she was here. He was probably just being friendly, she told herself, but she didn’t want to hang around and find out. Her heart was firing like a piston in her chest and she felt dizzy and disorientated in the heat.
‘No, thank you. I have to get back. Connor’s waiting for me.’ Nerves made her tone snippy.
Guy looked affronted by her rejection of his hospitality, but shrugged and turned and walked away, leaving her there feeling like the rudest woman on earth. Her people skills clearly needed some work.
Not that she didn’t already know that. Abi had made it abundantly clear that she was becoming increasingly difficult to work with. The heavy sinking feeling she’d been dodging for the last couple of days landed squarely on her shoulders. She shook it off. It would all be fine once she got back to London. She’d make sure it was.
She started walking back the way she’d come. The trouble with this place was it looked the same for miles around. There was a tree she thought she recognised in the distance, so she made her way towards it, pulling off the heads of some lavender as she went and pinching them between her fingers to release the scent. Lavender was supposed to be good for helping you relax wasn’t it? She was going to need a tonne of it at this rate.
* * *
After an hour of stomping through the fields she began to regret not taking better notice of which way she’d come. She still hadn’t found the farmhouse and she was baking in the fierce heat of the sun.
There was very little shade – just the odd small olive tree dotted here and there. Her mouth felt uncomfortably dry, and the more she thought about it the thirstier she got.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d experienced such intense heat. Her last holiday had been a skiing trip three years ago, which she’d had to cut short because of a crisis at work. Her job had taken her abroad a couple of times, but she’d always been ferried from air-conditioned plane to air-conditioned office. There had never been time for any sightseeing, so she’d just been left with the impression of heat and humidity as an abstract concept.
In short, she was well out of her depth.
* * *
Connor knew there was something wrong as soon as he pulled up to the front of the farmhouse. The heavy oak door was ajar and when he cautiously pushed it open he was greeted by the sure signs of a robbery. All the drawers of the hall sideboard were lying tipped upside down on the floor, surrounded by their contents. It was the same story in the kitchen. The digital radio and a couple of his grandmother’s old ornaments were missing from the snug, but they hadn’t bothered with the ancient TV.
He stood listening for a few seconds, his heart racing from a mixture of anger and fear in case they were still in the house, but it was silent. Luckily there wasn’t anything much of value they could have taken, but he was furious about the violation of his property and the mess they’d made.
Taking the stairs two at a time, he checked each of the bedrooms. They’d had a go at opening a couple of his boxes of books and climbing equipment, but had obviously abandoned them as not worth the time. In Josie’s room the drawers spewed her underwear and linen. The only thing he couldn’t see was her laptop. Maybe she’d taken it to be repaired? No, she couldn’t have done. Her car was still in the driveway.
Where was she?
A thread of fear twisted through him. Surely she’d been out when they’d broken in. Maybe she’d gone to the farm as he’d suggested? He really hoped so.
After making a sweep of the garden and the garage, and thankfully not finding her trussed up with her head bashed in, he went to phone Guy at the farm to see if she’d turned up there. Blood thumped through his veins as he waited for him to pick up.
