The door banged again from upstairs. Steeling herself, Tina acceded that she would have to go up and close it properly, although she did wonder why it had started banging now. The ascent of the staircase set her nerves jangling.
‘This is so stupid,’ she muttered to herself. ‘What on earth am I afraid of? It’s just a house. Exactly like mine.’ She was now at the top of the stairs and she hastily located the light switch. The landing was immediately swathed in light and Tina was thankful that Mr Cooper had never felt the need to convert the landing light to one of those energy-saving bulbs that seemed to take an eternity to reach their full power.
Tina quickly identified the door that was responsible for banging. She went to poke her head round the doorway but stopped and switched on the light. Sadly, this one wasn’t working at all.
All Tina’s senses were telling her not to go into the room.
Her i-phone bursting into life from her pocket made her let out a startled scream. Her body jumped involuntarily and her breath caught in the back of her throat.
‘Shit!’ She held her hand to her racing heart and groped in her jeans pocket for her phone.
‘John Police’ flashed up across the screen.
Tina accepted the call. ‘Hello.’ She closed the bedroom door, giving it an extra tug, until she heard the click of the catch fitting into the lock.
‘Hi, Tina. It’s me, John. Everything okay?’
She pushed the bedroom door to ensure it wouldn’t come open again. ‘Hi, John. Yes, all okay. I’m at Mr Cooper’s.’
‘Just letting you know that I’ll be parked up outside tonight.’
‘Just you?’
‘Yeah. Martin’s follow up some leads. If you need me, shout.’
‘Thanks, that’s good to know.’ Tina immediately felt herself relax. ‘Have you eaten?’
‘Yes, thanks. Don’t worry about me, you carry on as normal.’
‘Are you planning to be there all night?’
‘Pretty much. Martin will be back down tomorrow.’ He sounded casual, as if it was a regular thing.
‘All night in the car? Will you be okay?’
She heard him laugh before he spoke. It was a gentle laugh, filled with warmth. ‘I’ll be fine. I’ve staked out in worse places, I can assure you. Now, don’t forget, anything that’s bothering you, call me. Anything at all.’
‘Thank you. I’ll try not to freak out, though, if there are any creepy crawlies about. I’m not sure spiders count as emergencies.’
She ended the call and was very aware of the smile that had, at some point, pasted itself on her face. It was still there as she left Mr Cooper, still dozing in his chair, and went back next door to get the tea ready.
Chapter 11
Tina wasn’t sure what woke her first. The soft whimper of Dimitri crying or the unfamiliar creak of floorboards. Creaks that didn’t happen as the house breathed in and out, slumbering its way through the night. No, those creaks were embedded in her subconscious, they didn’t stir her. The creaks she heard tonight were different. They had a sense of rhythm and weight to them.
She was up and grabbing her dressing gown as these thoughts filtered their way through her sleep-muffled brain. Dimitri’s whimper had turned into a cry.
‘Mummy!’
‘It’s okay, darling. I’m coming.’
Tina pushed open her son’s bedroom door. It was ajar. She had left it closed. She always closed his door. Perhaps he had been up in the night. That would explain the unusual groaning of the floorboards. She let out a deep breath and calmed herself as she entered the room.
Dimitri was lying in bed, the duvet pulled over his head. She could see his feet jiggling. He pulled the cover down and called out her name again, before hiding his face under the racing-car fabric.
‘It’s mummy,’ said Tina rushing to the side of his bed. She pulled the cover back and stroked his head. ‘Dimitri. Mummy’s here.’ Enveloping him into her arms, she held him tight, making reassuring soothing noises. His little body relaxed into her and his arms wrapped around her neck. Soon his crying eased.
‘There was a monster in my room,’ he said.
‘It’s all gone now. You must have been dreaming,’ said Tina. She pulled away from her son and smiled, holding her hand to his rosy cheek. The shaft of light from the hall cast a shadow across the bed, leaving the rest of the room in darkness.
Tina turned to look across the room. Dark corners and unidentified black shapes invaded the room. By day the furniture and furnishing were comforting. By night menacing. Alien in the darkness.
Unable to rely on sight, she listened intently. The atmosphere was heavy. She felt Dimitri’s body stiffen. Through the thin cotton of her nightshirt, his fingernails dug into her back. Tina wasn’t sure what she was listening for. Anything that shouldn’t be there. Footsteps. Breathing. Movement.