Please, darling . . . shh . . . it's OK. Max and I will support you whatever happens . . . we're here.' Diana turned to Iris. I think . . . it would be best if you go and leave us to talk to our Tam on her own. Then we'll get back to you, I promise. Can you understand that . . . as a mum?'

She's right,' said Max Iris folded her arms and sat back. I ain't moving 'til she admits it,' she said. Get the police if you like . . . they'll be interested in what I've got to say. I ain't moving.'

Dylan rolled his eyes and tried to intervene.

Mum! We can't stay here all night. I want to get home.'

She shot him down. Don't you start. Don't you dare tell me what to do!'

Max walked across to the window and looked out. It's raining, pouring,' he said, and in view of our proximity to the river, which is already full to the brim, I think you should go and I'm going to drive you home. Otherwise, you'll end up sleeping here with no electricity. And before you object to that, I would point out that it's a generous offer . . . kind of me, considering the way you barged in here, uninvited.'

Tomorrow's another day,' said Diana. We need time to sort this out, Iris. It's a shock, yes, but IF it's true, these two young people will need our support, not condemnation. I'm concerned for my daughter, and I'm sure you are for Dylan. We shouldn't involve the police at all. It's a family matter.'

Thanks.' Dylan looked at Diana as if she was rescuing him. I'm not a bad person like you think . . . I . . . I'm sorry for what I did to the cat . . . it was stupid . . . peer pressure and stuff.'

Yeah, and drugs,' said TammyLee.

I'm off it. I'm clean now.'

'E is,' said Iris, without any help from the medics.'

Pigs might fly,' TammyLee muttered.

This isn't going anywhere,' said Max, taking his raincoat from its peg and jingling his car keys. I'm going now so make your minds up.'

Dylan stood up. Look, Mum,' he said, putting his face close to hers, you know you can't walk home in this rain, and there won't be a bus for hours. Have some sense. This isn't the last day in the history of the universe.'

Iris sighed. She glowered at TammyLee, and handed her a slip of paper. That's my mobile number and, if I haven't got the truth from you by tomorrow, I'll be back . . . with the socials.' She unzipped her handbag, extracted a voluminous pink raincoat from a pouch and put it on with much rustling.

As soon as they had gone, TammyLee let Amber out of the conservatory, and we listened to the rain pounding the gla.s.s roof, and the splas.h.i.+ng of Max's car driving off into the night.

Diana and TammyLee stayed on the sofa, not speaking, but TammyLee wouldn't look at her mum. I returned to the warm hearth rug with Amber and began to wash vigorously, feeling I needed to cleanse my coat of the last traces of the hostility Iris had generated in our home.

Diana was holding TammyLee's hand, and gazing expectantly at her. If she'd kept quiet, it might have been OK, but, in her softest voice, she asked that same painful question: Is it true?'

TammyLee looked at her, desperately and wordlessly. Then she lurched to her feet and stumbled out of the room and up the stairs. Minutes later she hurried down again, clad in high boots, a black parka and with her hair stuffed into the hood, which was falling forward over her face.

I heard Diana gasp as her daughter fled past and flung the front door open. The wind blasted hard raindrops and yellow leaves into the hall. TammyLee slammed the door behind her, and we heard her footsteps vanis.h.i.+ng into the night.

I jumped onto the windowsill and ducked under the curtain to see which way she was going, and I saw her hooded silhouette, a bag flying from her shoulder. She headed down the road towards the busy roundabout where the headlights lit up the driving rain and the water pouring down both sides of the road.

I was used to TammyLee coming and going, so her flight from the house didn't bother me. But it worried Diana. I'd never seen her so upset. She sat with her eyes shut and her hands clinging to a patchwork cus.h.i.+on that TammyLee had made, repeating over and over again, Oh, G.o.d, please look after our Tam. Let her come back, please.'

Even the solid presence of Amber leaning against her legs didn't seem to help. I went on was.h.i.+ng and grooming my fur until it felt silky and clean. Then I looked round for something to play with. After all the rage and the rows the humans imposed on me, I needed time to be a cat.

I padded around, sniffing the places where Dylan and Iris had sat, and made an amazing discovery. Iris had left her handbag behind! Wow. I circled it a few times, eyeing the worn leather toggle on the zip, patted it, and did my pouncing routine, leaping and twizzling in the air. I crouched and sidled, never taking my eyes from the zip toggle in case it moved, loving the excitement and fun building inside me.

Little beads of joy raced through my heart. With delicate skill, I got the toggle between my teeth, held the bag down with my paws, and pulled. It slid open with a satisfying buzz. Now I could see inside. I did my pounce routine again, then reached my paw into the soft interior and extracted an open roll of peppermints. The smell of them, and the spiral of torn green wrapping, freaked me out and I chased it towards Amber. She sniffed at it and stuck her nose high in the air. I'm not allowed to have those,' she said, but I left them there for her, and returned to the open bag.

Next, I took out a bunch of keys, which smelled awful. Attached to them was a tiny lion with a fuzzy mane and eyes that rolled around comically. He wasn't brilliant to play with because I couldn't detach him from the keys. I went on burrowing, and extracted a rattly packet of tablets in silver foil, and a biscuit wrapped in cellophane. I was just hooking out the purse, when Amber started barking and Max came back in.

Iris left her handbag behind,' he said, rolling his eyes. And I see you've been busy, Tallulah!' Tutting, he scooped up the stuff I'd taken out and put it back, but no one laughed, and that was unusual. This time, my attempt to break up the misery with a bit of humour was not appreciated.

Back soon,' said Max. I'll pick up some sandbags.'

No . . . Max . . . wait,' cried Diana, her face taut with anxiety.

What is it, love?' In two strides, Max was beside her, looking concerned. But Diana couldn't seem to speak. She clutched his arm and took some deep breaths.

Our Tam has run away,' she sobbed. Never mind the sandbags . . . you've got to find her, Max . . . she's so vulnerable just now . . . and she ran out the door in black clothes. She'll get hit by a car. Oh, please, please look for her, Max . . . she might do something terrible, the state she's in.'

Silly girl,' said Max. What about you, here on your own?'

I'll be OK for a few hours,' wept Diana. Please, just go and look for her. And don't shout at her, Max, please. She's very, very emotionally fragile right now.'

Chapter Thirteen.

THE LION IN WINTER.

Hours later, Max came back, without TammyLee.

No sign of her,' he said. I checked all the usual places where she goes. Her mobile is turned off. If she's not back in the morning, we'll report her missing.'

The anxiety stretched itself into every corner of the house. Max made up the fire and brewed cocoa in silence. He washed up and fed Amber, and put some fresh cat litter in my tray. Don't you go out, Tallulah,' he said. Amber was allowed out, and came back with her legs dripping wet. Then Max lit candles and stood them in the window in jars. He persuaded Diana to go upstairs to bed. While you can,' he said. If the power goes off, you won't have the stair lift.'

I can't possibly sleep,' said Diana, not while my TammyLee is out there. I don't want my medication tonight, Max . . . I need to stay awake.'

Max stayed up with her and we heard their voices talking. Amber and I had had enough of the stress. We needed a long sleep, and we needed each other. I was glad to lie on the hearth rug with her, even though she was snoring and having one of her woofy dreams. The rhythm of her breath, and the purr of the fire, was comforting. The sound of the rain seemed distant, but the night was full of unfamiliar swis.h.i.+ng and gurgling sounds.

Later, I was wide awake for a while and I trotted upstairs to TammyLee's room, to see if she was there, and she wasn't. I rolled about on the duvet and played with the soft edge of it. Then I jumped onto the shelf of teddy bears and walked along it with my tail up, inspecting them. They hadn't got auras, only the twinkling eyes gave them a presence, and their black noses and st.i.tched-on smiles. Next, I sat on TammyLee's laptop, to think. I sat on her chair, and on her pillow. Where was she? I wanted her.

What if she never came back? Whose cat would I be then?

Worrying won't help you,' said my angel. The next three days are what you need to focus on, and you must look after YOURSELF, Tallulah. You are a very important cat, and you are so loved . . . we need you to survive.'

Survive what?' I asked, but my angel disappeared in a s.h.i.+mmy of light, and I was left alone on TammyLee's bed. Survive? What, again?

There was silence from Diana's room, so I ran downstairs to Amber and snuggled up to her. She sighed and put a warm paw over me, as if she wanted to hug me. I purred a little and went to sleep between her big paws, knowing that if I heard TammyLee's footsteps, I'd be instantly awake, and so would Amber.

The candles flickered until dawn, and the sunrise was silver grey. Drops of rain still covered the windows and there was an unfamiliar light outside, and no sounds of traffic, which was unusual. A loud metallic throbbing sound filled the air, coming and going as if some great machine was patrolling the sky.

Amber seemed tense. She wouldn't talk to me, but stood in the doorway, listening, her tail down. I was OK, refreshed from my sleep and wanting to go out in the garden. Heading for the cat flap, I ran through the kitchen with my tail up, hoping TammyLee would be on her way back. The kitchen floor was wet, causing me to stop and shake each paw. I b.u.t.ted my head against the cat flap and jumped out. Too late, I saw water s.h.i.+ning, directly outside, and there was no avoiding it. The whole garden shone like a lake. Even the path was submerged and water was lapping at the walls of the house. With my paws and tummy horribly wet and cold, I turned and went back through the cat flap. The hearth rug was still warm, and Amber came to me, whining, and tried to lick me dry. She was comforting, but I wanted TammyLee to come and fluff me up with a towel. I needed her there, to cuddle me and explain what was happening. I missed her kindness.

Amber ran to the window and put her paws up on the sill, looking out as if someone was coming. I leaped up there, and stared, transfixed by what was happening outside. Max had stacked sandbags across the gate, and a line of gleaming muddy brown water was spilling over the top of them. Out in the road, the water was flowing along like a river, and, in the distance, voices were shouting. The sky throbbed with circling helicopters.

A duck with a green head lurched over the top of the sandbags and started swimming around our garden as if it owned the place. I sat up very straight and batted the window, trying to tell that duck exactly what I would do to it if I was out there.

Amber was watching, but her tail wasn't wagging and her eyes looked worried. Then she did something that seriously spooked me. She lifted her head, stretched her throat, and howled, on and on. It chilled me to my bones. It resounded through the house, along the floor and up the walls, into corners and cupboards, even the lampshades quivered with it.

My fur ruffed out, my eyes must have gone black with terror, and my pulse raced. But Amber didn't stop. The howling went on and on, like a warning siren.

Too petrified to move, I watched the water in the garden. I saw Max's sandbag wall sag and burst open, and a torrent of brown water surged towards the house with an unforgettable roar. It burst through the cat flap in a plume of froth, swept across the kitchen and into the hall.

Amber stopped howling and barked. She spun round and lolloped through the water and up the stairs, leaving me paralysed with terror on the windowsill.

I watched in horror as my food bowl, still with some bits in it, floated by, along with the leaves and litter the water was bringing in. I watched the brown tide, foaming at the edges, glide into the lounge and under the sofa, swirling around the chair legs, soaking the carpet. It picked up TammyLee's fluffy slippers and sloshed them against the wall. Then it reached the fireplace and steam rose, hissing from the embers.

What the h.e.l.l is the matter with that dog?'

I heard Max getting up, his feet creaking across the landing.

Oh, my G.o.d. Now we have got problems.'

He dived into the bedroom and grabbed a mobile phone, tapping it urgently and listening.

d.a.m.n it. The lines are jammed.' He did a lot of cursing, and finally spoke to someone. Our house is flooded. The water's pouring in, and my wife is disabled . . . and my teenage daughter has gone missing.'

He didn't say, Our cat is marooned on the windowsill.' I was, and the water was creeping up the wall, deeper and deeper. I clung there, watching Max, who was now downstairs and paddling around, grabbing armfuls of stuff and chucking it on the stairs. I was afraid that in his frenzy, he wouldn't notice me, so I meowed loudly; in fact, I wailed. He waded over and picked me up. Phew!

Poor Tallulah,' he said as I clung to his shoulder. He carried me to the stairs and put me on them. Go upstairs, go on. Shoo!' He clapped his hands which wasn't helpful to an already frightened cat.

Miffed, I crouched on the top step, watching Amber, who was trying to convince Max it was a game. She was charging up and down what was left of the stairs, grabbing some of the things he was chucking up there, and carrying them into Diana's room in her mouth. She grabbed books, papers, shoes and gadgets, even a telephone with its wires trailing. She got that tangled up in the banister rail, and tugged at it until Max shouted at her. She left it swinging in mid-air and seized a coat by its hood, dragging it round the corner into Diana's room.

An amazing sound rippled through the house. Diana was laughing! It relaxed me straight away and I ran in to see her with my tail up. What Amber had done was awesome, in my opinion. In the midst of a crisis, she'd managed to make Diana laugh. It made me feel better.

But it had the opposite effect on Max.

What the h.e.l.l is there to laugh at?' He shouted. I'm busting a gut trying to salvage our belongings. What's so funny?'

His words only sent Diana into a new bout of hysterical giggling, and encouraged Amber to move even faster, her tail wagging now, knocking medicine bottles off tables as she flew past.

I'm sorry, love,' said Diana as Max's furious face appeared at the door. I know I shouldn't be laughing . . . but Amber is so funny . . . don't be cross with her, Max. It's better to laugh than cry.'

I'll do the crying,' said Max. Our home is RUINED, Diana. Our daughter is missing. For G.o.d's sake, woman.'

He did start to cry, sitting at the top of the stairs, but he refused to let the tears flow. Silently and painfully, he fought it, his shoulders shuddering with every breath. I ran to him and looked right into his soul with my most concerned cat stare.

Tallulah . . . you lovely, lovely cat,' he said, and caressed my fur with an unsteady hand. What are we going to do with you and Amber? And, dear G.o.d, where IS my daughter?

Max shut Amber and me in TammyLee's bedroom, with a dish of water. Amber lay down across the door with a sigh of resignation, and I made a nest in the duvet and fell into a restorative sleep.

It must have been mid-afternoon when the house began to shake. Amber was frightened of thunderstorms, and she crawled under the table and pressed herself against the wall, whimpering. It wasn't thunder, I knew that. Keeping myself hidden behind the curtain, I peeped out, alarmed to see a helicopter hovering just above the house. My ears hurt with the bang-banging of its relentless blades, and, up close, the helicopter was enormous, deafening and intimidating.

My instinct was to hide like Amber, but I wanted to see what was happening. It felt as if the house was going to be blown to bits. I touched the window with my nose, and the gla.s.s was vibrating.

The sky was blue now and the flood had settled into a vast sheet of water. I could see the reflection of the helicopter and the trees. Loud and scary as it was, I worked out that this iron giant was actually under control. In the midst of the thunderous noise, there were voices, and they were calm, giving clear instructions to each other. I understood that a man in goggles and a helmet was in the c.o.c.kpit, and he was OK. Two more men, clad in bright orange, were in the side door, and one of them began to descend, on a string, like a spider!

Down and down he came, and stopped level with Diana's bedroom window. Max was holding on to her tightly, and Diana was being brave, smiling and making jokes as the man fixed a harness round her. She was whisked up into the sky, with the man in orange holding her firmly. She looked down at me as I sat in the window, and then she was lifted into the helicopter. Max went next, his body rigid, his face grim as he was winched to safety.

What about us?' I thought, expecting the men in orange to come back with a cat cage and lift me up there too, and Amber, and take us to a lovely place where TammyLee would be waiting. I wanted her so much in that moment. I wanted her love, and the special way she talked to me and explained things, the way she'd put her face close to mine and call me magic puss cat'.

But it didn't happen like that. A cold shadow of betrayal crept over me as they closed the door of the rescue helicopter. I meowed and scrabbled at the window. I wailed and cried, but the helicopter rose heartlessly into the sky and set off at speed, carrying Max and Diana away from us. I watched until it was a tiny speck against the western sky.

They had left us behind.

Max's words rang in my head. Our home is RUINED.' What did he mean? It seemed OK to me, except that there was water downstairs. I wondered where my food dish was.

Amber crawled out from under the table, still s.h.i.+vering. I tried to comfort her by winding myself round her legs with my tail brus.h.i.+ng her face, but all it did was make her sneeze. My attempt to tell her about the helicopter was a waste of time. She couldn't get her head round it. She stood at the door, pawing it and whining, her tail hanging limp like rope. Her fur had mostly dried except for her ears, and she was cold, and, like me, hungry.

Outside, the sun was setting and pink light reflected in the water. Amber wouldn't talk to me, so I sat in the window and watched it getting dark. Boats were going up the flooded road, laden with people wrapped in blankets. One woman had a cat in a cage and I could hear it meowing. The other cat I saw was all alone and clinging to a wooden table that was being swept along fast by the surging water. I searched the sky, but the helicopter didn't come back, and in the deepening twilight there were blue lights flas.h.i.+ng everywhere.

It was the longest night of my life, thinking I'd been abandoned, wanting TammyLee, wanting my supper and the warm bright fire. Amber didn't sleep either but stared at the door all night, her nose twitching, and her tail didn't wag once.

When dawn came, I noticed her looking up at the door handle and getting more and more agitated. She seemed to be hyping herself up for something she was planning to do. Then, cleverly, she got the handle between her teeth and pushed it down. It didn't work, but she tried again, and I ran to sit beside her and encourage her, thinking we could get down to the kitchen and find our food. Amber growled and jerked the handle harder, and at last the door swung open. Amber dashed into Diana's room, and came out again, looking puzzled. She ran up and down the landing and in and out of the bathroom.

Max and Diana are gone,' I said, and TammyLee.'

I don't believe you,' said Amber. They're out there somewhere.'

She sat at the top of the stairs, sniffing the air and thinking.

Don't go down there,' I said. It's flooded.'

The water was deep. Stuff was floating around in it, and only the top of the sofa and table were visible. Sticks and straw had been washed in and was drifting around with lots of paper and plastic bottles. We could see into the kitchen, and the window was open, and once Amber saw that, something even more terrible happened.

Don't go . . . please,' I begged, but Amber wasn't seeing or hearing me.

With a sense of foreboding, I watched her pad down the stairs. She entered the water quietly, not with her usual joyful splash. She swam around in a circle, and looked up at me, and clearly she was saying, Goodbye.'

Devastated, I meowed and meowed, but Amber swam into the kitchen, and dragged herself over the worktop and out of the open window. Frantic, I tore back into TammyLee's room, to see what happened, and glimpsed the s.h.i.+ne of Amber's wet head as she swam across the flooded garden and into the swirling current that was the road. I meowed my loudest. What chance did a lone dog have in that vast and swiftly moving flood?

Now I was truly alone.

I spent most of the morning meowing, going from one window to another, hoping to see someone who would notice me. n.o.body was out there now even the boats had gone, and the helicopters were far away. I clung to a frail idea that Amber might come back, and I worried about my family. TammyLee was the one I ached to see.

Clouds gathered over the midday sun and soon it was raining again. Mist hung over the water, and the place looked desolate. The day was pa.s.sing and I hadn't been rescued. Starving hungry, I ate some bread and cheese Max had left, but it upset me and I was sick. I missed being in the garden and thought that going outside would make me feel better.