I twisted it to one side, but still I could see the following lights in my wing mirror, and for some reason I began to feel uncomfortable. I slowed down, thinking I’d let him overtake me, but he slowed too. I sped up, but still the lights remained exactly the same distance behind me. I took the fork leading to our lane and checked again; the car was still there behind me. My discomfort was fast mutating into full-blown panic now. That car was following me, I was sure of it.
Josh’s warning popped into my mind in a very unwelcome fashion, and I realized just how vulnerable I was. Away from the street lights of Compton, the inky blackness was complete but for the path cut by my headlights on full beam and the following pinpricks, and I was absolutely alone. To meet other traffic on the lane at this time of night was practically unheard of. If my pursuer decided to overtake and box me in there would be no one to come to my aid, and I didn’t think I’d be able to reverse to safety in Dad’s unfamiliar car – more likely I’d run into the ditch. My heart had begun to beat very fast and I could feel the adrenalin of fear pumping through my veins.
Who the hell was it? And why were they following me? But I wasn’t going to hang about to find out. I put my foot down hard and the 4 x 4 shot forward. Not too far to our track now – the trouble was that was even lonelier than the lane – and I couldn’t even be sure of being safe when I reached the farmyard. Mum and Dad would probably be in bed – Dad certainly would be. They’d never hear me calling for help. And if my pursuer followed me into the yard he’d catch me easily before I could find my keys, get the front door unlocked and be safely inside.
I was practically sobbing now, my hands moist with perspiration on the steering wheel as I rocketed along the narrow lane between the high hedges, fighting to keep the 4 x 4 on the road around the bends. The entrance to our track was coming up – should I turn into it, or just keep going?
At the last moment the pull of home was too strong. I stood on the brakes and veered wildly to the left. The tyres screeched, mounted the bank, and for a horrible moment I thought I would lose control. But the 4 x 4 was equal to the challenge. With a jolt and a slither I was back on the track.
It struck me suddenly that the darkness was more complete than ever – no reflected lights hurting my eyes. Shaking with terror I checked – nothing. Just the inky blackness. At first, unable to accept I was no longer being followed, I kept my foot down, jolting over the rough ridges and gulleys made by the tractor. Then, as I made it into the farmyard, I slowed and stopped right beside the door, my hand poised over the horn, ready to blare hard enough to wake the dead if the following car appeared again. It didn’t, and when I switched off the engine and opened the door, the silence was as complete as the darkness.
For a moment I sat there, waiting for my breathing to steady and my heart to stop thumping, and as it did I began to wonder if I’d blown up this whole thing out of proportion.
The car hadn’t followed me into the track – perhaps it hadn’t been following me at all. Why would it? Who would do such a thing? But there was no denying that it had been there, all the way from Stoke Compton. It had adjusted its speed to mine.
Could it simply have been a couple of lads on a night out, having a bit of fun? They’d seen a lone woman in a car, guessed from my reactions that I was rattled, and decided it would be a lark to carry on with the game, and really frighten me.
Well, if that was the explanation, they’d certainly succeeded!
Calmer now, I found my keys, locked up Dad’s car and got myself into the house. But the unpleasant feeling lingered.
Was I stirring up a hornet’s nest with my investigations? Was I putting myself in danger – the same sort of danger that Dawn had been in? Even now it seemed preposterous. But if I was being targeted, it could mean only one thing – there was something sinister waiting to be uncovered, and I was getting too close to whatever it was for the perpetrator’s comfort.
It was all the incentive I needed. I was going on with this if it killed me!
Eleven
In spite of my fright of the previous evening, I was more determined than ever to pursue my story. Dad, bless him, phoned his local computer man, and as luck would have it, he had a laptop in stock that suited my needs and my pocket. He’d get it all set up for me, he promised, and I could pick it up any time after four.
‘This is getting to be a bit of a habit, Sally,’ Dad said, putting his car keys where I would be able to find them if he was out on the farm when I needed them. ‘I reckon you should buy yourself a car while you’re at it.’