Page 27 (1/2)
When she had gone, by her rough calculation from the sketchy h there was a s off the road towards the interior of the island uide had told her, to a look-out on the eastern slopes of the low volcanic ridge that divided the island However, it wasn’t the view that Elizabeth was after A quick glance over her shoulder reassured her that there was only one person in sight, quite a long way behind her, a jogger who appeared to be struggling to ardly pace
Hitching her soft-sided beach bag more securely over her shoulder, Elizabeth stepped on to the track, breathing ht of the road She walked briskly, suddenly feeling energetic and adventurous
The track rose quite steeply for the first twentyhard by the tin and took the sht
It was slow going After another twentyat stray branches and several ti off the crushed-shell pathway byto worry She stopped and twisted the top of the bottle of Perrier water that she had tucked in her bag The water was only slightly chilled, but it fizzled and stung refreshingly on her tongue She eating freely and she took off the pink scarf that she had used as a belt for her shorts and tied it around her head to keep thedown into her eyes For a moment she just stood and enjoyed the quiet She couldn’t even hear any birds, only the soft sigh of the breeze in the upper leaves of the trees that towered above the thick shrubs lining the path, the wild sub-tropical lushness which sprang frorowth on the sandy flatlands below
She was replacing the half-e when she heard a soft rustle of bushes on the path behind her and whirled around, her heart hae animals on the island, let alone predatory ones, but still she was frightened
He e
down the unexpected stationary object in his path
It was the jogger froered backwards against the press of leaves
She felt like screa when she saho it was
'Lost again, Beth?' In running-shorts and a singlet, his taut htly hard, Jack Haood ait that had earlier deceived her he was evidently in the peak of condition, his injured leg notwithstanding
The lie stuck in her throat 'Uh-'
'Because if you want the look-out you're on the wrong track The path to the suht'
'Oh' It was her unaccusto her breathless, Elizabeth decided, not his unexpected presence 'Then where are you going?' Her mind seethed with suspicion
'Jogging the sa,' he said smoothly
He hadn’t really answered her question, Elizabeth realised, and yet he had