Page 37 of The House Swap

If she wasn’t so worried, Poppy might have laughed. Even through his own worry, Tom knew her so well.

‘Something’s happened,’ she admitted. ‘It’s Keira. She’s gone.’

‘Gone where?’ Tom asked, sounding confused.

‘Back home, apparently.’

‘Apparently?’ he repeated. ‘Are you saying you don’t know?’

‘I went out this morning and when I came back, all of her stuff had disappeared.’ The words came out in a rush now. ‘Then, hours later, she messaged me saying she’d had an emergency and flown home. I replied, but the message hasn’t delivered properly and she’s not answering me.’

‘Okay,’ Tom said slowly, his voice steady. ‘Let’s not panic yet. If she got a flight back, she might still be travelling or have no signal.’

‘I realise that, but why she didn’t tell me beforehand? She just… vanished.’

Hearing the rising panic in her own voice, she tried to draw in a deep breath to keep herself grounded.

‘Poppy, if it was urgent she probably didn’t have time to let you know. It could be a family emergency or her boyfriend… what’s his name? Greg?’

‘Maybe.’ She pressed her fingers to her temple. ‘It just feels wrong.’

‘Wrong how?’

She hesitated, then admitted, ‘She just wouldn’t leave me worrying like this.’

‘It’s okay, Pops. I get it. But remember, you’re in an unfamiliar place, you’ve been stressed for weeks, and now you’re alone in a very quiet villa. Just be sure your brain isn’t filling in gaps with worst-case scenarios.’

His voice was warm and measured, and it helped to ground her.

‘I guess you have a point. I was thinking about going to the police before she contacted me,’ Poppy confessed.

She was glad she’d held back, knowing she would have looked foolish.

Still, a niggly little part of her couldn’t help be suspicious of Keira’s message. It just didn’t seem like her friend.

She leaned back against the sofa cushions. ‘I hate this feeling.’

‘I know you do.’ Tom’s voice was softer now. ‘She did contact you, though. That’s the important part. I don’t know what’s going on with her or what her emergency is, but at least you know she is okay.’

‘I want to believe you,’ she said, pinching the bridge of her nose. ‘I really do. It’s just…’ She trailed off, closing her eyes for a moment, listening to the steady sound of his breathing. It was comforting.

‘Would you like me to go and check on her?’

Poppy’s heart thumped. He would do that for her? It seemed like an imposition.

‘I can’t expect you to do that,’ she began.

‘It’s not a problem,’ Tom assured her. ‘She lives close by, doesn’t she? And I can tell you’re worried. I can stop by tomorrow either before or after the hospital.’

‘If you honestly don’t mind, I’d really appreciate it,’ Poppy said gratefully. ‘I don’t have Greg’s number, and her parents live in Spain. I don’t have anyone else who can go.’

Tom didn’t hesitate. ‘Let me do this for you. Ping me her address. I’ll nip round tomorrow.’

‘Thank you. I really appreciate it.’

They stayed on the phone for a few minutes longer, and by the time Poppy ended the call, her breathing had slowed and her shoulders loosened.

The villa no longer felt quite so cavernous.