Page 54 of Box of Frogs
He revved the engine and took off along the narrow road before turning where I’d told him to. I had to admit that he was right; he was indeed a good bike rider, maintaining a careful speed and not veering too close to the looming hedgerows. At one point a fox bounded out in front of us. Without missing a beat, Morgan slowed, nimbly driving round it so it was free to scamper back to the undergrowth in safety. When we picked up Julie, I’d have to point out to her that she should take note of the benefits of careful driving.
I wondered how we were going to fit three people on the back of the bike. Maybe I’d end up walking back after all.
Using the map, I directed Morgan to the left. Julie’s red blip was still moving but very slowly now. She appeared to be taking a cross-country route. That was sensible for avoiding scary vampire hunters but it was less useful when her bodyguard was trying to catch up with her.
I tapped Morgan’s arm. ‘Stop here,’ I told him. ‘I think she must be in that field.’
He did as I asked, pulled the motorbike neatly into the side and turned off the engine. Reluctantly, I slid off the back. I was going to miss the warmth of his body. I yanked off the helmet and pointed. ‘She’s that way.’
‘Who is this Julie exactly?’ Morgan enquired. ‘And what do you do for her?’
‘She’s a soap star,’ I said. ‘I’m her bodyguard.’
He snorted in disbelief. ‘Bodyguard? Since when?’
‘Yesterday.’ I located the gate and hopped over it, my feet squelching in mud as I landed.
‘You thought that someone was trying to attack her down a quiet country lane? When you’re a drug-dealing faery who was almost killed just a few nights ago?’
I shrugged. ‘People are out to get her too.’
‘What people?’
Uh… ‘Stalkers.’
‘Stalkers plural?’
‘She’s very famous,’ I answered stiffly. ‘Are you coming with me to fetch her or are you staying here?’
He leaped over the gate with far more grace than I’d managed. ‘Coming with you, of course. I’d hate to think you’d get attacked by a crazed cow.’
I glanced round the dark field. ‘Sheep,’ I said. ‘Not cows.’
Morgan squinted. ‘It’s unusual for sheep to be bunched together like that unless they’re being herded. I don’t see any sign of a woman either. Are you sure she’s in this field?’
I glanced at the phone. ‘According to this, she is.’ I held it up. ‘She’s still moving.’
‘Maddy,’ Morgan said, ‘no one’s there.’
My stomach tightened. ‘Of course she’s there. We just can’t see her yet.’ With that, I took off and jogged towards the flock. None of the animals appeared to be sleeping but that was probably because Julie’s presence had woken them up. She was going to be there, I told myself; she’d be sitting next to one of the sheep and chatting away to it whilst swigging from a hip flask. I was prepared for her yelling at me for being a useless bodyguard but I wasn’t prepared for her not to be there.
Scanning the field desperately, my eyes finally alighted on a huddled figure beside a clump of trees. Breathing a sigh of relief, I headed straight for it, narrowly avoiding a collision with several sheep.
‘Julie!’ I exclaimed. ‘I’m so sorry! I…’ My voice trailed off. It wasn’t her. What I’d thought was a person was nothing more than the stump of a tree. I looked down at the phone again. According to the map, she was less than twenty metres away. Then my eyes snagged on one of the sheep that was straying away from the others. In its mouth was a small grey box.
I darted over. The sheep, startled by my approach, dropped it almost immediately and ran off. I ignored it and picked up the tracker. Maybe Julie had dropped it by accident and was still somewhere around here.
I opened my mouth and yelled. ‘Julie! It’s Madrona! Where are you?’
My voice echoed back. I spun round, continuing to search. Trying to stay calm, I centred myself, digging down for the same sensitive hearing I’d used back at the country house. All I could hear, however, were the shallows breaths of dozens of sheep. No one else was here.
Then, over in the far corner, Morgan raised his arm. ‘Here,’ he said, his voice grim.
I sprinted over to join him. Snagged to a post was a scarf. Even in the gloom, I immediately recognised it as the brightly coloured one that Julie had been wearing. I stared at it, my heart sinking into a dark chasm of despair. While I’d been snuggling into Morgan and enjoying myself, the vampire hunters had nabbed her.
Chapter Eighteen
It didn’t take long to re-orientate and re-group. The Redcap, who was lying dead out on the road behind us, had been surprised to see me. He was also one of the trio who had attacked me on the golf course that very first night. Whatever his motives had been then, it was clear that it wasn’t me he’d been after tonight. While we’d faced him down, his two buddies had circled round and grabbed Julie from the front. It was a strategic action I should have foreseen. There was no point berating myself about it, however. I could wallow later; right now there were far more pressing matters.
