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The following morning I left Ben in bed when I took Poppy out for her first walk of the day. Kissing me goodbye, he made a sleepy promise to get up and make breakfast, by which time I would be home.
‘Sounds good to me!’ I said. ‘But don’t rush. It’s still early.’
The fresh air revived me a little, but I was still feeling groggy from the previous evening’s drinking as I followed Poppy across the wide patch of grass that ran from across the lane down to the river. She amused herself pursuing a curious zigzag path, picking up scents that were concealed from me. She was happily scampering and sniffing around, when all at once she froze, her ears pricked up, and she began tugging me towards a hooded figure that was walking rapidly across the grass towards us. Unable to see who was appr
