Free CHILDHUNT: A Mystery & Suspense Thriller in the Bestselling Diana Rivers Series (The Diana Rivers Mysteries Book 5) by Faith Mortimer Page A

the poker, he wandered over to the window and looked out. All around there saw a thin carpet of snow. The outside lamplight showed it had eased a little, but as Olympus Mountain was shrouded in thick cloud, he reckoned more was still to come. Peering through the gloom, he saw that the Frost house was still in darkness, and he hoped Debbie wouldn’t find the road too icy on her climb back up the mountain. He turned away from the window and shook his head. What on earth had made her go out anyway?
     
     
    Chapter 11
    Diana decided it was time to call it a day. She was on the last couple of chapters of her latest crime novel and needed a quiet period before committing them to her computer. She was confident she had covered everything; all the loose ends just needed tying in but…she needed to absolutely sure. There just weren’t enough hours in a day, with Christmas looming and all the extra work that entailed. Diana was sure that if she put the manuscript on hold and looked at it with fresh eyes after the festivities, she would feel much happier. Christmas was a magical time, especially for children, and Poppy was already getting excited.
    Standing up and stretching, Diana realised she was cold. Her hands were frozen, so she decided to put the central heating on. Normally in Cyprus, it was warm enough during the day to wear no more than a sweater. Heating was only needed during the night-time hours. Moving away from her desk, she looked out of the window and across the valley. She had an almost unbroken clear view right across to the Troodos Mountains. The only houses interrupting her view were a handful dotted here and there: Roger’s, the Frosts’, Jenny and Bernard’s, and that fellow’s—Philip’s—who was renting old Costas’ place. Although it was only afternoon, she had a light on over her desk, and she could see lights in some of the other houses too. What a dreadful, gloomy day. It was so bad it made her feel disheartened. She wondered if Adam and Clare had arrived. Their plane was due soon, and they said that, as they had a hire car organised, not to worry about picking them up from Paphos airport. That left Steve’s mother. Bad weather and Gwen Rivers…could it get any worse?
    Diana giggled to herself as she recalled bickering with Steve about his mother. She knew she had been hard on him, but sometimes he deserved it. She was sure there were times when he deliberately played her up to see what he could get away with. Men! They were nothing more than overgrown schoolboys. She vowed to be nice and gentle with her mother-in-law and not rise to the bait even though she could be an old bat at times.
    She tidied away her files and notebooks, pausing when she heard a siren in the distance. She hoped it wasn’t anything serious like a house on fire or a road accident. She never understood why every police, fire engine or ambulance out there used their flashing lights and sirens as a matter of course, even when there was no emergency on the island. Perhaps it was a show of power, people saying ‘look at me’, she mused.
    Making her way downstairs, she met Steve coming from the direction of the utility room. “It’s suddenly got very cold. I thought I’d turn the central heating on early,” she said, rubbing her hands together.
    “I’ve just done it, and I’ve lit the wood-burning stove. Would you like another cup of tea?”
    “Great, the place will soon warm up. Yes please, that sounds good. Have you heard from Clare and Adam yet?” She followed him into the kitchen and leant against the radiator which was beginning to warm up.
    “No, should I have? I thought they’d ring you.”
    She shrugged. “Clare said she’d ring as soon as they were in their accommodation. I hope it’s all right. There’s no central heating, just a hot air blower in the bedroom. One gas fire might not be enough.”
    “Well, we can always lend them one. I shouldn’t worry. I doubt this snow will last…it never has