made up. She was going to throw a sickie and devote the day to finding Puddles. Her thoughts were already racing ahead. She’d begin with the alley behind everyone’s gardens. There were numerous sheds that backed on to it. It might be that Puddles had wandered into one of them and accidentally got locked in.
Jade chucked a teabag in a mug, but then abandoned it. She couldn’t even face having something to drink. Now that she’d worked out a plan, she just wanted to get on with it.
Five minutes later she was warmly dressed and armed with a box of cat treats. She’d give it a good shake when calling him. If Puddles were in the vicinity, it would bring him running. If for any reason he couldn’t run – she cringed at the very thought of this possibility – then at the very least he would cry out, alerting her to his whereabouts.
Jade spent a good forty minutes in the back alley listening carefully as she passed by every padlocked garden shed. She also surreptitiously opened gates and peered over fences.
Coming out at the other end, she turned left and moved into the next road. On the corner were a row of garages. Some were rented. Others privately owned. Systematically she tried every handle. Two opened, but other than a startled mouse scuttling from one, there was no other creature within.
By nine o’clock she’d walked the length and breadth of the adjacent half dozen roads. It was unlikely Puddles would have gone this far. He wasn’t an adventurous cat. He liked to stick around his home base and the gardens at the rear of Gresham Terrace.
Jade reached into her jacket pocket for her mobile and checked the time on-screen. Time to call work.
As the number connected and began to ring, Jade debated whether to opt for honesty.
‘Yes?’ snapped Sue.
It was clear from her manager’s tone that this wasn’t a tell-the-truth moment.
‘Good morning, Sue. It’s Jade.’
‘Where are you?’
Jade was about to lie and say she was in bed feeling lousy, when an ambulance roared past. The driver chose that precise moment to blare the vehicle’s alarm, blowing apart any fabrication about being at home. Bugger. She’d have to think of another excuse, and quick.
Her gaze fell upon a beaten-up Ford that was parked a little way ahead. The car was leaning at an angle due to both left tyres being flat.
‘I-I had a blowout while driving to work,’ Jade stuttered, madly improvising. ‘Thankfully I have breakdown cover, but there’s a two-hour wait time.’
‘I have breakdown cover too’ – Sue sounded suspicious – ‘and it promises to never keep a customer waiting longer than thirty minutes.’
‘O-Oh, that’s amazing. You’ll have to tell me about them when I get to work.’
‘And when, exactly, will that be?’ Sue demanded.
‘Um, hopefully by lunchtime,’ Jade quavered. ‘Would you prefer that I take today off as holiday?’
‘No, Jade. I’d prefer you get your car sorted ASAP and get here pronto. We are extremely busy, and your absence is not fair on Freya, Silvia, or me.’
‘Y-Yes, of course. I’ll be in as soon as I can. Thank you for being so understanding,’ she grovelled.
Jade ended the call feeling beyond miserable. She very much doubted the shop was swarming with customers. The doors would barely have been open to the public for more than five minutes. On the upside, she’d bought herself some extra time to find Puddles. If her search was fruitless, then she’d have to deal with Sue again later. In the meantime, she had a cat to find.
Doubling back on herself, Jade thought it might be a good idea to knock on random doors asking if anyone had seen a black and white cat looking lost.
Another fruitless hour passed. Yes, someone had seen a cat matching Puddles’ description, but that had been two days ago. Yes, another household recognised a photograph that Jade produced on her mobile. The cat often came into their garden, but only fleetingly. No, they hadn’t seen him recently.
Despairing, Jade returned to the alley at the rear of Gresham Terrace. Letting herself into Number 3’s garden, she was astonished to see Puddles peering at her through the kitchen window. He was home!
Overjoyed, she sprinted to the back door, fumbling with the housekey in her eagerness to get inside.
‘Puddles!’ Jade cried, tripping over the doormat in her haste to scoop him into her arms. ‘You gave me such a fright, boy. Where did you get to last night?’
As the cat stood up