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CHAPTER ONE

SHE was running Forcing herself onwards down a long straight road, where flanking trees threw g rotesque shadows in front of her Shadows that she did not want to enter Her breath tore at her lungs, and her legs ached, but she could not stop And dared not look behind

Must keep going Need to move on The words beat a rhythm in her brain Have to run Have to

Cally Maitland sat up, gasping, her body damp with perspiration, as the sudden shrill of the alar suddenness to the reality of a new day She reached out a shaking hand and silenced the noise, then sank back against her pillow, trying to clear her head My God, she thought What was all that about? But of course she already knew Because sh e'd had that dream before Several times

The sun was pouring into the rooap in the shabby curtains, and it was clearly a beautiful May day But Cally felt a chill in the air, and wrapped her arms round her body with a faint shiver

She said softly, half under her breath, 'It is—definitely— tio'

She pushed back the thin quilt and got out of bed, running her fingers through her tousled light brown hair, sth bob That was one thing she had refused to economise on— her monthly trip to the best hairdresser in town

There were shadows under her long-lashed hazel eyes, she realised, giving herself a swift, critical glance in the ht frorace

She felt, she recognised with bewilder totally alien to the cherished, pairl had vanished for ever

Her htened with sudden bleakness But there was no ti her shoulders Kit had phoned the previous evening to call an e at the Children's Centre, and she couldn't be late

She collected clean underwear, and one of the plain grey skirts and creaear, and headed for the small dank shower room which had been created in a corner of the attic room s he inhabited

The landlord had thrown up cheap plywood partitions to divide the living space froether a rudias stove in an alcove He felt that entitled hi a flat, but it was still nothing hty bedsit