FifteenThey tramped across the surrounding fields to the farm. All was quiet, the farmyard forlorn, abandoned, even the chickens leaving to wander the surrounding countryside. Claire stood at the five-bar gate, the wind playing at the tails of her coat. She put the heel of her palm into her eye and sniffed. “To think I lived almost my entire life in this place. Now look at it.”
“We'll take a look inside.”
“No. I don't want to. I'll wait here.”
Françoise tensed, the niggling feeling of being watched wafting across him, causing him to scan the horizon, narrowed eyes trying to pick out anything unusual. “Are you sure?”
“I'll be fine. Get yourself some clothes and anything else you can find. There's a cash box under the sink, in the cupboard. It says 'washing tablets'.”
“Clever.”
She gav
