When Kathleen woke up the following morning, it was already bright outside and there was no one on the big bed except her.
She remembered falling asleep with the children held in her arms last night.
Did she sleep so deeply that she didn't even know when they woke up and left the room? It must be because of her taut nerves from all the events of yesterday.
She yawned again and stretched her arms wide, knocking down the alarm clock on her bedside table. She moved over, repositioned it and saw that it was reading 8:25am.
"Is it already so late? No wonder everywhere is bright. I guess the children must have gone to school by now."
She got up from her bed and went to the bathroom to freshen up, she had no plans of going out today, so she changed into a loose T-shirt and shorts before heading downstairs.
As she descended the last staircase, the front door opened and Mrs Carr stepped into the house.