TWENTY-EIGHT
Cal drove Emma home after repeated calls to Jack failed to elicit a response, despite the resumption of the communications network. It was a tedious journey, the truck having to manoeuvre around fallen trees and take numerous detours due to road closures. Police were busy erecting barriers and directing inquisitive citizens away from flood waters, so took little notice of a truck making its way south. Cal’s knowledge of alternative routes – mostly gravel or dirt tracks –also helped, until they reached the former canal development of Martha Cove and discovered that the lake level had risen significantly.
After a lengthy detour, they arrived in Safety Beach after dark, so Cal dropped her outside the apartment block, intending to continue south to check that his farmhouse had s
