‘Then I’ll run a mile, obviously. And leave you to deal with it.’
She grinned. ‘My superhero.’
They followed an overgrown path downhill, eventually reaching a narrow winding lane. A hundred yards further along, they came to a tiny cottage in a clearing surrounded by trees.
And there in the front garden was a little old lady in a floral print dress, a chunky grey cardigan and green Hunter wellies. Her gnarled hands were cupped around her mouth as she carried on calling.
Not having heard their footsteps in the lane, she jumped a bit when she turned and saw them coming up behind her.
‘Hi,’ said Rory. ‘Who have you lost?’
‘What?’
‘Who’s Blackie?’
‘Oh, my cat.’ The woman had to be in her early eighties. ‘He went out on Friday and there’s been no sign of him since. I’m so worried, he’s never done this before . . . I’ve been through the woods searching for him all day yesterday and today. Oh my poor Blackie, what’s happened to him? I can’t bear it . . .’
‘And how many cats do you have?’ said Rory.
‘What?’
He raised his voice and said, ‘How many other cats do you have?’
‘None, just Blackie. He’s the only one.’ The old lady’s voice broke and her chin began to wobble like a toddler’s. ‘Oh Blackie . . .’
‘Are you a bit deaf?’ said Rory.
‘What?’
‘Are you A BIT DEAF?’
She glared at him. ‘Of course I’m not deaf. Don’t be so rude.’
Tasha and Rory exchanged a look; she’d heard it too. Somewhere nearby, a cat was miaowing. It sounded as if it was coming from above them. Loudly and clearly, Tasha said to the woman, ‘We can hear a cat miaowing. Can you hear it?’
‘What? You can hear a cat? Where?’
‘Up there.’ She and Rory were both pointing towards the trees. Glancing over at the old lady, Tasha noticed the hearing aid in her left ear. ‘Have you forgotten to switch your hearing aid on?’
‘What? Oh no, I keep it turned off to save the batteries. But it’s OK, I don’t need it. I’m not deaf.’
The mewing continued, feeble and resigned. Shielding her eyes with her hands, Tasha gazed up into the branches of the trees, searching for Blackie.
‘Got it,’ Rory said suddenly, pointing to a huge chestnut tree to the right of the house. He turned to the old lady. ‘What colour is Blackie?’
‘Eh?’ The woman switched on her hearing aid and Rory repeated the question. ‘Oh, he’s a ginger.’
‘But it didn’t occur to you to call him Ginger?’
She shot him a look that signalled that he must be deranged. ‘I don’t like that name. I’ve always called all my cats Blackie.’
‘Right. Well, he’s up there.’
The woman lifted her head, following his pointing finger, and clasped her gnarled hands together. ‘Oh look, there he is! Has he been up there the whole time?’
‘I’d imagine so,’ said Rory.
‘Oh, poor Blackie! I can hear him!’
Tasha could see Rory biting his tongue, resisting the urge to remind the woman that if she’d just switched on her hearing aid, she would have heard her cat’s piteous mewing two days ago. But never mind, they’d located him now. God, and he was so high up, perched precariously on a narrow branch with his ginger tail dangling beneath him.
She took out her mobile. ‘We’ll call the fire brigade, they’ll be able to get him down.’
‘No signal.’ Rory, who had already checked his own phone, held it up to show her.
‘Me neither.’ Well, it was hardly surprising; they were in a deep valley. ‘Look, do you have a phone here?’
‘No. I don’t like phones.’
‘So we don’t have any choice. We’ll head back to the hotel,’ Tasha told the woman, ‘and call the fire brigade from there. Tell me your address so they know where to find you.’
‘Oh Blackie! What if he falls out of the tree before they get here? He’s been up there for two days with nothing to eat or drink!’ The woman spread her arms. ‘What if he faints?’
‘I’m sure he’ll be fine,’ Tasha assured her. Next to her, Rory was taking off his jacket and speculatively eyeing up the enormous tree.
‘I think I might be able to do it, you know.’
Was he mad? ‘Seriously, don’t even try.’
‘Why can’t he try?’ demanded the old lady. ‘If he reckons he can do it, he should give it a go.’
OK, maybe having that hearing aid switched on wasn’t such a great idea after all.