My legs wobble from under me. I take an unsteady step back and lean my weight against the breakfast bar.
‘Jenna, what’s wrong?’ Stuart is by my side in three steps.
‘The cupboard,’ I say, my words shaky.
Stuart follows my gaze to the doll. It’s the same generic red-haired doll you always use, but its clothes are what I can’t tear my eyes away from.
‘Christ.’ His voice is no longer mellow but alert. Hearing the change in his tone hammers home the panic circling my body and I gasp.
‘Look.’ I swallow hard, gesturing at my trousers and navy blouse before staring again at the doll who is dressed in the exact same outfit.
‘Get rid of it, please. Throw it away.’
‘We can’t, Jenna. He might have left a fingerprint or DNA this time.’
I shake my head, hugging my arms to my body. ‘He’s too smart for that. He’s never left a single piece of evidence behind in all these months.’
‘He’s never been in the house before either,’ Stuart says. ‘Maybe he’s slipped up.’
‘How did he get in?’ I spin around and look through to the front windows. The sky is black. With the kitchen lights on, we might as well be on a stage with spotlights pointed at us. I dart across the floor to the living room and check the windows. Locked.
Then I grab at the soft cream linen and yank the curtains shut. There’s an inch gap where they don’t close properly and I pull at the fabric and try to wrap them together. I knew they didn’t fit when I bought them, but they were supposed to be decorative, not useful. Once upon a time I liked the idea of peoplelooking in through our big front window and seeing our beautiful home. It never crossed my mind that someone like you would be looking in. Now it’s all I think about.
By the time I’m back in the kitchen I’m stumbling on feet that don’t feel like my own. Stuart is standing exactly where I left him, still staring into the cupboard.
‘Did you leave the back doors open when you took the kids up for a bath?’ I ask.
‘No.’ He shakes his head. ‘You know I wouldn’t be that careless. We didn’t even open them during dinner because Archie was worried about a bee coming in.’
‘How did he get in, then?’
‘I don’t know.’ Stuart closes the distance between us and I collapse against him.
‘I love you,’ Stuart says.
‘I love you too.’
‘Let’s call the police,’ he says and I nod, shivering against the warmth of his body.
Chapter 7
Jenna
While we wait for the police to arrive we check the house, top to bottom. Under the beds, inside the wardrobes, anywhere you might be, just in case. We check the windows and the doors for any sign of a break-in, too.
‘I don’t understand it. No one’s been here except us,’ I say.
‘Oh God,’ Stuart says, his voice suddenly quiet as he sinks on to the sofa. ‘The viewings – the potential buyers – it had to be then.’
‘But you were here, you showed them around. How could …’ My voice trails off, the truth dawning slowly in my exhausted state. ‘Stuart, no! You promised you’d do it.’
‘I was going to but the times got changed. One of the appointments got pushed back an hour and I couldn’t leave the site for that long. We had a council inspector in today. Wayne swung by and got the keys and did the viewings for us. I told him to be extra careful.’
I close my eyes for a moment against the tidal wave of anger pushing through me.One job, is what I think. All Stuart had to do was this one thing and he didn’t, and now you’ve been in our house, our home, the place our children sleep. I bite the inside of my cheek until the feeling passes, and then I remind myself that it’s not his fault, it’s yours. Always yours.
I picture Wayne. He’s a typical Westbury estate agent. Early twenties, tight suit, shaped eyebrows and a spray tan. A talker, only drawing breath when I interrupt with a question or a remark, and then he nods his head like the Churchill dog in the old adverts, but I never get the feeling he’s listening.
‘Have you checked the camera?’ I ask.
