Kate hit the Snooze button on her alarm for the fifth time and rolled back under her covers. Willow had been up all night barking at the wind and was now fast asleep, curled up at the foot of the bed. Through a drowsy haze, Kate tried yet again to think why she had set an alarm. Unable to come up with an answer, she curled herself under the covers and floated back to sleep. She was swimming with seals and gliding gracefully in the water. Seals! She sat up, completely awake now, a cold feeling of horror settling in the pit of her stomach. She remembered the last conversation she’d had with Roderick as the Hogmanay party had come to an end. ‘I’ll pick you up at 8.15 a.m. We can catch the ferry at quarter to. You will be up, won’t you?’ Roderick had laughed. ‘Of course,’ Kate had said indignantly. ‘I’ll have you know I’m up walking the dog at seven o’clock most mornings.’ All right, she’d done it once, so she wasn’t lying altogether – but in truth Willow wasn’t that keen on getting up early in the morning, either.
