Hide and Seek Read Online Free Page A

Well done Colin,’ he said sarcastically.
    He returned to the living room with the mobile and placed the landline phone back on its receiver to halt the annoying William Tell ringtone of Colin’s mobile phone. How stupid did you have to be to put your mobile number on a note for someone and actually forget to take your phone with you? He put the mobile phone on the mantelpiece and picked up the landline phone again and rang his own mobile. As it dialled he hoped he would hear it ring somewhere in the house but he heard nothing and it went straight to voicemail. He hung up, frustrated.
    ‘How very irksome.’

 
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER 6
     
    13:03pm
     
     
     
    Peter climbed the stairs and went into the second room and sat on the undisturbed bed, exhaling loudly in relief as he kicked off his muddied shoes. He stripped out of his clothes, retrieved a towel and his toiletry bag and crossed the landing to the bathroom. He looked at the dishevelled man staring back at him. His eyes were slightly bloodshot, his skin looked blotchy and his mousy brown hair was ruffled and was sticking up on the right side.
    ‘Yep, you look like shit.’
    He patted his stomach, pleased at how it was still well defined. He liked to keep fit and kept the flab at bay with a twice weekly routine of squash. However, unpredictable work patterns had wrecked his routine over the last year so he was surprised that it still looked like he was taking care of himself even though he knew he wasn’t. He had a relief-filled piss and then brushed his teeth. He debated whether to have a shave but decided he couldn’t be bothered. He stepped into the shower, the hot water was invigorating and for ten minutes he just stood there with his head bowed under the nozzle letting the water massage and revitalise his body.
    He left the bathroom and stood in the hallway, listening in case anyone had come into the house whilst he was in the shower. The house was still deathly quiet. He returned to the second bedroom and dried off. The feeling of fresh clothes was, again, refreshing and he bagged up the dirty clothes and packed his travel bag up. He was starting to feel a little agitated. He was booked on the 3:12pm train and it was twenty minutes from here by taxi to the station. His plan was to wait for the others to come back, get a quick debrief on what the hell happened last night, then he’d get a taxi to the station and have a full English breakfast at the greasy spoon cafe he spotted on his way here, before boarding the train for home. His stomach gurgled as if agreeing with his plan.
    Peter relaxed in the chair in the front room, thinking about last night’s events , trying again to recap as much as he could for some clue as to what was going on. He rubbed his eyes and brow, still feeling hazy, the dull headache still there. Had he been drugged or taken drugs? He couldn’t imagine any scenario, no matter how drunk he was, in which he would be convinced to take drugs. He was still feeling tired and his eyes stung a little at the stark white light of the early afternoon sun streaming in through the open blinds. He thought he’d rest his eyes for a while.
    A knock at the door startled him awake. It had only felt like a few seconds but a quick check of the clock on the mantelpiece revealed he must have dozed off for at least ten minutes. He groggily rose from the chair and looked out of the window - a police car was parked on the driveway. An immediate feeling of panic swept over him and he rushed to answer the door.
    Peter recognised the officer immediately. It was the town’s Chief Superintendent, who also happened to be Michelle’s father. He wasn’t wearing his police uniform but he still had an authoritarian presence. He always reminded Peter of the actor Sam Elliot because of his flowing grey hair and the white moustache which sat permanently on his upper lip. It was the moustache, and his tendency to wear a cowboy hat when out of uniform, which had