Page 53 of The House Swap

‘Well, at least I have a rational explanation for why the pool lights were on when I got back late last night.’ She laughed, trying to lighten the moment, already feeling foolish for oversharing when he didn’t say anything.

‘You were out last night?’

The question struck her as a little odd, but it was harmless enough, so she tried to shrug it off. Maybe he was just making conversation.

‘I had dinner with a friend.’

He stared at her for a fraction longer than necessary before nodding sharply. ‘Right.’

Another innocent yet odd response and Poppy didn’t know why that single syllable unsettled her.

She forced a smile. ‘Okay, well, thanks for stopping by.’

Martin started to move towards the door. At the threshold, he stopped and looked back at her.

‘Try not to leave the gate unlatched,’ he said, his tone mild.

Her stomach tightened again.

‘I didn’t.’

Martin’s eyes narrowed as if he didn’t believe her. ‘It was open when I arrived.’

‘It was definitely closed last night,’ Poppy told him, alarmed.

Had someone been in the garden overnight?

She remembered the car she and Jem had passed, partially hidden by the trees.

For a moment, she considered telling Martin about that too, but he would probably dismiss it as he had done with everything else.

‘Just try to remember,’ he gently admonished. Then, with the briefest nod, he turned and left, leaving Poppy still a little shaken by the encounter.

She knew the gate had been shut. Jem had walked her to the front door, then she had waited for him to get back in his car. She recalled hearing the distinct click of the latch as it closed.

Locking the front door, she watched from the window as Martin started his van, reversing out of the driveway. He stopped and got out, to close the gate, briefly looking in her direction, as if knowing she was there. Then he was back in the van and driving away, the sound of his engine fading down the track.

Poppy went back to the bedroom and grabbed her laptop, taking it through to the dining table and plugging it in to charge.

Her hands were steady, but her mind was all over the place as she tried to process everything.

She had an explanation for the pool lights, but now in its place there was the mystery of the open gate. And she still couldn’t explain the unplugged charge or her moved phone, or any of the things that had happened previously.

Poppy closed the laptop and pushed back from the table, restless again.

The villa felt different after Martin had been inside it. It wasn’t a smell or anything she could put her finger on. It just seemed as if his presence remained.

Wanting fresh air, she walked over to the patio doors and stepped outside.

The wind had dropped away, leaving the olive trees unnaturally still, and the pool lay flat and reflective. The surface unbroken beneath a sky that was impossibly blue.

Her gaze drifted towards the far corner of the terrace, where a dark smear drew her eye.

Frowning, she moved closer.

It was on the low wall near the gate. Not dirt, but not quite mud either, and it was a thin crescent shape, almost as if someone had rested their palm there briefly. Of course, it was entirely possible it had been there before, and she was only now noticing it. Yet she couldn’t shake the feeling that it hadn’t been there yesterday.

Try not to leave the gate unlatched.