After I finished the call to Penny I ran down the stairs to find Philip.

He was in the kitchen checking the back door for any signs of damage.

“I can't see anything,” he said without looking up. “Did Penny leave it open?”

I shook my head.

“No, Penny didn't come in while we were away and we didn't leave it open either.”

Philip stopped instantly and stared at me, puzzled.

“Well, there is no damage so if Penny hasn't been here then one of us must have forgotten to lock it!”

“It was Sam!”

“Sam!” he exclaimed, “What do you mean, Sam? I thought you were done with all that!”

His face looked like thunder!

“I have, I promise you but I just spoke with Penny. She said Sam visited her saying that she should be with me and not you.”

“I'm calling the Police!” Philip said curtly and turned towards the phone hanging on the wall.

I grabbed his arm.

“No, not yet. She said she lost her keys but found them between the cushions of the sofa. Whatever has happened with Sam it is entirely my fault. At least let's give her the opportunity to either admit it or prove her innocence. Besides, we don't have any firm proof yet.”

Philip looked doubtful.

“Look,” I told him. “I am over this now. I know where my heart lies so, if you like we will confront her together.”

He took a deep breath.

“All right,” he said at last. “We do this together and if she has been in here then she has issues that need to be addressed.”

“Yes, I agree but we can't go to the Police. I couldn't bear for all this to be made public.”

“Fair enough,” he relented. “What do you propose then?”

I thought carefully before answering.

“I don't know...”

I pulled out a chair from the kitchen table and sat down, my head in my hands and he sat beside me.

“I've been such a fool,” I whispered. “Not only have I been selfish but I could have have put you in danger.”

Philip's face softened then.

“You could have put us both in danger,” he said.

He took my hands in his and gazed into my eyes.

“When I married you I promised 'for better or worse' and quite honestly I can't think of anything which could be much worse than losing your love.”

I opened my mouth to protest that I did love him but he stopped me from speaking with a finger on my lips.

“I thought I had for a time and it was unbearable,” he continued quietly. “Now I know I haven't. I am certain that you love me just as much as ever and I will stay by your side and protect you for as long as we live.”

I could feel a tear begin to form but before it could fall, Philip wiped it away with his thumb and kissed me gently on the lips.

“I will never betray you again,” I whispered then took a deep breath. “I suggest that we see Penny and find out exactly what has been happening whilst we were away and then take it from there.”

“Fair enough,” he replied, “There is something I must do first, though.”

I looked at him, puzzled.

“Change the locks!” he said. “If she does have a key she could come back anytime she wants to.”

After he left for the hardware store, about twenty minutes away, I busied myself in the kitchen clearing away the breakfast things and washing up. We had a dishwasher but as it was empty it was just as easy to wash these few items by hand.

I went to throw a piece of unwanted toast into the bin but when I opened the lid there was no bag inside.

I had forgotten that I had emptied and cleaned it before we left.

The new bags were in the garage which was accessed from a door at right angles to the back door so in I went and reached up to the shelf where they were stored, tore one off the roll and returned with it to the kitchen but when I stepped through the door my blood ran cold in my veins.

The back door was open!

I couldn't move but just stared at it, terrified.

“Sam...?” I called out but the sound was barely more than a whisper and my voice was tremulous with fear.

There was no reply and all I could hear was the deafening hiss of the blood flowing through my ears and the heavy pounding of my heart.

I slowly turned around, not sure what I would find but it seemed I was alone.

Suddenly my mind went haywire and I slammed the back door shut and wedged a chair back beneath the handle then did the same with the door through to the hall. I couldn't secure the garage door as it opened the opposite way but I knew she wasn't in there and she didn't have a key for the outer door.

As soon as I was satisfied that I was safe I grabbed my phone and called Philip but the called was immediately diverted to voicemail.

“Ph...Philip,” I stuttered, “I think she's in the house!”

I waited, hand shaking but there was no reply, of course.

I called Penny.

“Hi, this is Penny. I'm sorry I missed you...”

No! Not her too!

I looked around frantically for something to defend myself with, not sure whether Sam had lost her mind.

There was a block of carving knives on the work surface so I grabbed the biggest and sat at the table waiting, every nerve in my body taut and tingling.

After what seemed an eternity there was a thump on the door to the hallway and I jumped out of my chair and faced it, holding the knife out in front of me.

The handle rattled.

“Anna? What's going on?”

Philip!

I ran to the door and threw the chair to one side, dragged it open and threw my arms around him, dropping the knife onto the floor.

“She's here!” I hissed into his ear. “I went into the garage and when I came out the door was open again!”

“I just came through the front door. Surely I would have...” he started to say but seeing the look of panic on my face he relented.

“All right,” he said softly. “Let's have a look around.”

I picked up the knife again and followed him up the stairs.

We checked the bedrooms and bathroom carefully but all was as quiet as it was downstairs so we returned to the kitchen and once I had returned the knife to its space in the block, Philip took me by the shoulders.

“Let me fit the new locks then we will go and see Penny and see what's going on.”

I nodded, still nervous.

“I will make coffee,” I said, more for something to say but I also needed a very strong dose of caffeine.

Philip went into the garage for his tools and returned moments later with the small plastic box and immediately set to work.

I watched intently as he began removing screws from the edge of the door.

Suddenly he sat back as a strip of metal clattered loudly to the floor.

“Oh, you've got to be kidding!” he exclaimed.

“What?” I asked, wide eyed.

“This bloody lock hasn't been fitted properly. It's all come apart inside and broken!”

“What are you saying?” I said, puzzled. “It was only fitted a few months ago!”

“I am saying,” he said slowly, “That this door has never been locked all the time it's been fitted!”

He began pulling pieces of metal from inside the plastic door.

“Look at it this. The handle has been operating but none of the latches have been locating and now the spring in the lever has broken so it won't even hold the door closed!”

It took a minute or two for this startling piece of information to sink in.

“Erm... so you're saying that the door could have opened by itself?”

“I'm saying that I am surprised that it stayed closed at all!”

“So I have accused Sam and she hasn't done anything?”

He breathed out slowly.

“Looks like it,” he agreed.

Now I felt terrible and hoped that Penny had not spoken to her yet.

“I'll ring Penny and tell her,” I said quickly, grabbing my phone from the table. “Oh Lord, I hope she hasn't said anything to her yet.”

My finger quickly tapped the screen and I waited patiently for her to answer.

“Hi. This is Penny. I'm sorry I missed you...”

I waited impatiently for the tone.

“Penny, it's Anna. If you haven't spoken to Sam yet, don't!” I almost shouted the last word. “Ring me as soon as you can, it's important.”

I tapped end call, put the phone on the kitchen table then flopped onto the chair.

“What the hell is she going to think of me?” I said quietly. “First I break her heart then accuse her of stalking me. If she didn't hate me before she certainly will if she finds out!”

I looked across at Philip, not really expecting a reply but he looked back with a look that said she deserved it.

“She didn't deserve it, Philip,” I said pre-empting the thought.

“Did she know you were married?” he asked, turning his attention back to repairing the door.

“Yes, but...”

“Then she knew what she was getting into. She is not a child, Anna.”

I didn't argue.

In a way, he was right but I still shouldered one hundred percent of the blame and the fact that I had led her into this mess weighed heavily upon me.

Philip stood up and inserted the final few screws into the metal strip on the edge of the door then exercised the handle a couple of times.

He smiled as he closed the door and turned one of the keys in the lock then tried his hardest to open it.

It didn't move but remained securely closed.

“Now that is how it should have been fitted in the first place!” he said, satisfied.

“Are you sure,” I asked, still a little fearful.

“Absolutely!” he assured me with a wide smile. “Here, try for yourself.”

I tried to open it in any way I could but he was right, it was solidly closed and locked.

“Can we go to see Penny now then? I really need to find out what has been going on.”

“In a while,” he replied. “Let me do the front door too, whilst I have everything out. It shouldn't take long...”

He paused.

“So long as that one has been fitted properly,” he added with a wry smile.

Fortunately, it had and all he had to do was change the lock barrel.

Thirty minutes later we jumped in the car and headed off to find Penny but as we turned into the road where she lived my heart missed a beat. There was a police car parked outside her house.

Philip pulled up behind it and we slowly got out and walked up the drive, past her car to her front door and knocked cautiously.

There was no answer.

I rang the door bell as Philip knocked again.

Still nothing!

I looked at Philip and he frowned.

My heart was racing again wondering what on earth had happened.

At the side of the house was a brick archway with a wooden door. I lifted the latch and it swung inwards.

I knew that Penny kept this gate bolted at night so, either she had been out and unlocked it or...

Of course my mind was thinking all sorts of reasons and none of them were good.

I led Philip along the pathway which had, on one side the house and on the other a hedge interspersed with flowers.

Penny loved gardening and I was always envious of how she had kept her garden so pretty.

I stepped nervously around the corner at the back of the house and stopped so suddenly that Philip almost bumped into me.

“What's wrong?” he whispered.

I pointed to the patio door which led through to the living room. It was fully open but of Penny there was no sign.

I was thoroughly fearful now of what I was going to find and walked slowly on towards the open door, Philip close behind.

It seemed an eternity until I reached the opening and I peered nervously inside.

“Hi Anna, Philip.”

My heart stopped and, with a little scream of panic I swung around to face the direction of the voice, almost knocking Philip off his feet.

“Penny!”

“Who did you expect?” she asked, her face creased with confusion.

“Oh Lord, I don't know!” I replied breathlessly. “I've been ringing you all morning!”

She put her hand to her mouth.

“Oh gosh, I'm so sorry. I left my phone on charge in the bedroom!”

“Where have you been? There's a Police car outside. I thought something had happened!”

I really wanted to strangle her but it wasn't her fault. She could not have known of the added drama of the door lock.

“Oh, they're not here, they are over the road. You remember the old man who lived opposite? He passed away in the night. He was ninety-seven but he had always been healthy so the police have to check. You know how it is.”

She looked at me again.

“You look as though you have seen a ghost, is something wrong?”

Philip gave a wry smile.

“No, nothing more than a deranged stalker,” he said with a hugely sarcastic tone.

“Oh yes, that,” Penny replied. “Come on, let's go inside. I'll put some coffee on.”

She paused and looked at Philip.

“And the kettle for you,” she added.

Once she had made drinks and the fresh black coffee had begun to calm me, Penny began to speak.

“After you called me this morning I rang Sam. I'm afraid she was rather distressed and insisted on coming over.”

“So what did she say when she got here?” I asked having no doubt that she must have defended herself vigorously now that I knew the truth.

“She hasn't been yet. I am expecting her in around half an hour. I had just gone over to the summer house to get my trowel when you arrived. I was going to do a little tidying whilst I waited for her.”

“Did you ask her about the keys?” I felt bad now.

“I did but, of course, she denied taking them.”

Philip and I looked at each other sheepishly and Penny looked troubled.

“Is something wrong?”

“I am not sure that Sam did take your keys,” I replied and then told her all about the morning's events.

“All right...” she said slowly. “But what about the panties and the scent?”

“Just an over active imagination I suppose. Especially as I thought I saw her at the station the day we left.”

“Oh Anna!” she exclaimed. “You may have seen her. She does travel a lot. That is how...”

She stopped suddenly and shot a guilty look in Philip's direction.

“Don't worry,” he reassured her. “Anna has told me everything.”

Penny frowned.

“Everything?”

“Well, not everything ,” he said slowly. “There are certain details I really don't want to know!”

I took a sip from my coffee and savoured it whilst I considered all that had happened.

“You said she came to see you whilst we were in Venice, that wasn't imagination though, was it?”

“She is lonely, Anna. I think your little fling has made her realise who she is and now she feels a little lost.”

Penny paused for a second before adding,

“At least, that is how it seems to me. I don't think she has anyone to turn to.”

Once again an awkward silence fell, each of us pondering how difficult this situation had become.

I looked at Philip but I really couldn't tell what he was thinking.

I wanted to try to make things right for Sam, especially after all the promises I had made her.

The problem though was how I possibly could without Philips consent. If I started seeing Sam again, what would he think? I doubted that he would trust me.

Penny, however, had been doing a lot of thinking for herself.

“I have an idea,” she began. “ Although I am not sure whether Sam would be agreeable.”

I looked at her and then at my husband.

“I don't know about you,” I said to him, “But I am willing to consider anything to put this whole thing to rest without causing her any further problems.”

“Or us,” he agreed. 

"In that case,” She continued, “I have been online and found various websites where she could talk to others with similar feelings. I thought that if she could talk about herself with other like minded people then maybe she will be able to come to terms with it.”

She paused, her eyes passing back and forth between each of us.

“What do you think?”

“Do you think she will go for it?” I asked.

In truth, I was happy that Penny had been so busy. The thought hadn't crossed my mind but then I didn't use the internet for 'social' purposes, rather for shopping and catching up on television shows.

As we discussed the possibilities there was a knock at the door.

“That'll be her,” Penny said, looking down the hallway then getting to her feet. “I think it best, at least to begin with that we don't make any accusations until we see how she will react.”

The knock was repeated, louder and more urgently now.

Philip and I nodded our agreement and Penny went quickly to the front door.

We heard voices as Penny invited her in and then she appeared.

When she saw Philip and I her face drained of colour and she turned as though wanting to immediately leave but Penny was blocking the way.

Sam's eyes were wild with fear and my heart immediately broke.

“Hello, Sam,” I said gently trying hard to smile but my aching heart wouldn't allow it. She looked so vulnerable, like a frightened rabbit caught in a snare.

“Anna,” she whispered. “I... I...”

Her eyes settled on Philip for a minute and I saw that he was seemingly less welcoming as he remained grim faced and silent.

“Sam, we need to talk,” I continued as gently as I could, through dry lips and even drier throat.

“I didn't take the keys!” she suddenly blurted, “The door was open!”

Philip and I looked at each other and then back at her.

“I am sorry!” she continued, becoming a little distressed and tears beginning to form in her eyes. “I couldn't help myself. I'm sorry!”

I went to get up, to comfort her but Philip stopped me, his hand on my forearm and I sat back leaving Penny to guide her to the sofa opposite.

I was struggling now, my heart pounding. I couldn't bear to see her so distressed but Philip was right to hold me back, I now had to be extremely strong if I was to finish this and not become involved once again.

She looked up at Penny, her eyes pleading silently.

“Let me get you a drink,” Penny said gently, her hand on Sam's shoulder. “We have talked and I think you should listen to what Anna has to say.”

She nodded and looked at me with moist eyes.

“I am really sorry,” she whispered. “I have been so stupid. Please forgive me...”