Midnight Is a Lonely Place by Barbara Erskine
‘Don’t be an idiot! You can’t ring the police because of a tarot reading!’ Kim bent forward and swept all the cards into a heap. ‘That’s it. Finished. I am going to put them away.’
‘I’ll ring the Prices. Meg and Ken won’t mind going over to Ty Bran and seeing if she is all right.’ Steph stood up. ‘Don’t be angry with Carmella. I knew there was something wrong.’ She headed for the telephone, in the hallway, leaving the others all staring at each other.
The phone at Cwm-nant rang and rang. There was no reply. Steph slammed down the phone. Picking it up again she tried Ty Bran’s number. The line was still dead. Then she tried Jess’s mobile. It was still switched off.
‘Leave it, Steph.’ Kim appeared behind her. She had brought a bottle from the fridge in the kitchen and a tray of liqueur glasses. Pouring one out she put it down on the hall stand beside the telephone. ‘Get that down you. I’m so sorry. It was a stupid, stupid idea doing the tarot. I should have remembered how melodramatic Carmella can be.’
Steph picked up the glass and sipped it. The strong cold shot of lemon revived her a bit. ‘I don’t know who to ring, Kim. Jess is all alone up there. There is no one there I know well enough to ask them to drive up into the hills in the middle of the night to see if my sister is OK.’
‘I bet you she’s fine.’ Kim guided her back towards the kitchen and onto a stool by the table. ‘I tell you what. Tomorrow, if you can’t contact her by then, we’ll ring the police and you can explain how worried you are, OK? Honestly. I don’t think you can ring them tonight. Not on the strength of a card reading. They would think you were nuts. And they wouldn’t go. You know that as well as I do. There is no point in even trying.’
‘And what if someone is trying to kill her?’ Steph took another swig from the Limoncello.
‘Why on earth should someone try and kill Jess?’ Kim grabbed Steph by the shoulders. ‘Think about it, you idiot! What could Jess have possibly done that would warrant that!’
‘Will was trying to find her. He rang – ’
‘Oh yes! And Will is trying to kill her? I thought you said he was still desperately in love with her.’
Steph shook her head. ‘I’m being stupid, aren’t I? I know I am. Sorry.’
‘At last! Sense. There was love in those cards as well, remember? Right, I’m going to send the others home. Go to bed, Steph. Sleep well. It will all be all right in the morning, you’ll see. The phone will be mended and you will find that Jess has been there all the time.’
About the Author
Midnight is a Lonely Place
A historian by training, Barbara Erskine is the author of ten bestselling novels that demonstrate her interest in both history and the supernatural, plus three collections of short stories. Lady of Hay was her first novel and has now sold over two million copies worldwide. She lives with her family in an ancient manor house near Colchester, and a cottage near Hay-on-Wye.
For more information about Barbara Erskine, visit her website, www.Barbara-Erskine.com.
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By The Same Author
LADY OF HAY
KINGDOM OF SHADOWS
ENCOUNTERS (Short Stories)
CHILD OF THE PHOENIX
HOUSE OF ECHOES
DISTANT VOICES (Short Stories)
ON THE EDGE OF DARKNESS
WHISPERS IN THE SAND
HIDING FROM THE LIGHT
SANDS OF TIME (Short Stories)
DAUGHTERS OF FIRE
THE WARRIOR’S PRINCESS
Copyright
This novel is entirely a work of fiction.
The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are
the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to
actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is
entirely coincidental.
Harper
An Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
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First published in Great Britain
by HarperCollinsPublishers 1994
Copyright © Barbara Erskine 1994
Barbara Erskine asserts the moral right to
be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue record for this book is
available from the British Library
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EPub Edition © MARCH 2009 ISBN: 9780007320929
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Barbara Erskine, Midnight Is a Lonely Place