SEVENTEEN
After the short trip to Covenham Jake crawled along, checking his rear-view mirror every few seconds. When he pulled up near the public footpath, he was certain nobody had followed them. He parked the Citroen just off the road and changed into his boots. Alice was already wearing hers.
They set off down the path. It was easy going at first, but further along it began to get slippery and they had to avoid some muddy puddles. On either side of them were open fields that had been ploughed in long furrows with wide sweeping turns at the end near the road. On the upturned soil the usual avian worm m******e was underway. The path began to rise and occasional stretches of hawthorn bushes bordered the fields. At the foot of the hedge, glossy yellow starred celandines and delicate viole
