Page 160 of The Cottage at Brambleton Hall

‘Clo, there’s . . .’

Chloe turned her head, the barrel swinging with her. Finger near the trigger.

Something inside Sammy snapped. ‘CHLOE!’

The sound was enormous. Nothing like a car backfiring – this ripped the air apart. Sammy felt it in her ears, her chest, her teeth, the ground under her feet.

A spray of dirt kicked up near the fence post. Far too close. The dog yelped. The man shouted, stumbling back, hands scrabbling for the dog.

Everything went completely still.

‘What the hell . . .’ the man shouted, his voice shaking ‘What the hell are you two doing?’

Chloe’s face was the colour of parchment. The gun thumped to the ground.

Sammy moved before she thought, stumbling out onto the footpath. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she said her tongue tripping up on the words. ‘I’m so, so sorry . . . we didn’t . . .’

‘You fired a gun!’ the man snapped. ‘Are you out of your minds?’

‘I know, I know . . .’

‘I’m calling the police.’

He was already pulling his phone out. The dog started whining, circling his legs.

Behind Sammy, Chloe made a small sound. ‘Sam . . .’

‘Shut up,’ Sammy hissed, not even looking at her. Her heart was hammering so hard she felt sick. Police. Social services. Chloe in trouble. Chloe would be sent away – maybe from Swansea.

The man was pacing now, phone to his ear, voice loud and wavering. ‘Yes, yes, I need someone out here. There are two girls . . . I don’t know – sixteen, not kids . . . not adults no, they’ve got a shotgun . . .’

‘Please,’ Sammy said, stepping closer to him, lowering her voice, fighting to make it steady. ‘Please, can you just . . . listen. Please.’

He glared at her.

‘We didn’t mean to fire it,’ she said words tumbling over each other. We thought it wasn’t loaded. It was stupid.’

‘You thought . . . guns aren’t toys,’ he said.

‘I know,’ she said. ‘I know. It was me . . .’ Behind her, Chloe went very still. ‘It was me,’ Sammy said. ‘I picked it up. I shouldn’t have.’ The man pulled the phone away from his ear. ‘Please,’ she said. ‘We’re in care. If this goes anywhere . . . they’ll move us.’ He scowled at her. Sammy rushed on. ‘No one’s hurt. It was . . . stupid. That’s all.’

The dog pressed against the man’s leg. The voice on the phone crackled. The man put the phone to his mouth again. ‘No one’s been hurt,’ he said ‘It . . . it was an accident. Yes. I’ll wait.’ He lowered the phone, still watching her. ‘This doesn’t go away.’

‘I know.’

The siren came first, louder as it drew closer. The car came in fast, stones kicking under the tyres as it braked at the gate. Both front doors flew open simultaneously.

Sammy’s heart pounded; police, serious trouble. Behind her, Chloe gasped. Sammy stepped forward, blocking her friend from view.

Two officers, one female, the one who spoke. ‘All right. Who called it in?’

The man lifted a hand. ‘I did. But it’s not what I thought.’

The officer’s gaze moved to Sammy. ‘What happened?’

Sammy spoke quickly. ‘It was me,’ she said. ‘I picked it up.’

‘Anyone hurt?’