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Danielle opened her eyes. She was standing in the kitchen where he
had left her, her back pressed against the sink unit. The dampness of a
used tea towel was soaking into the back of her dress. She was scared
to move but from here she could do nothing. She had to find him, there
was no choice. She had started this game and now she had to finish it.
Looking up to where the collection of sharp and dangerous knives hung
over the island unit, she noticed there was one missing. The one mummy
used for cutting meat, the big one with the wooden handle. The
dishwasher was running but it was never put in the dishwasher. She
could not see the sink so perhaps it was probably in there. She put the
missing knife out of her mind and moved on.

She edged towards the corner of the kitchen cabinets and cautiously
poked her head around to get a good view of the lounge. It was all
clear. As she moved further out she noticed the dogs' water bowl was
empty. She must tell mummy when she sees her, otherwise Spike will be
drinking from the pond again and making that horrid mess when his tummy
gets upset. In the lounge now, she noticed that 'Aladdin' was still
playing. The noise made it harder to hear anyone moving around the
house, which worried her. She found the remote, turned off the TV and
resumed her search. She could now see the whole of the lounge clearly
except for the area behind the big chair with its back to the garden. A
familiar pile of magazines, books, papers, old coffee cups and reading
glasses were scattered on the floor around the chair.

Danielle liked daddy's chair. It was special because it had some levers
you could move to make it go backwards and forwards. It also had an
extra piece that came out the front for your legs, if they were long
enough. Daddy didn't mind her sitting in it as long as she didn't play
with the levers and moved quickly if he wanted to sit down. Mummy had
told her, secretly, that daddy's chair was like Spikes bed and the
stuff around the chair was like Spike marking his territory except
easier to clean. Danielle thought that was funny and drew a picture of
Spike sitting in daddy's chair with his glasses on, reading a magazine.
Daddy didn't get it, but mummy stuck it to the fridge door
anyway.

She decided she must look behind his chair and she could feel the
excitement building as she slowly moved towards it. Stopping suddenly
at the thought that, if there was someone there she was going to be
easy to catch, she retraced her steps to the back of the sofa. From
there she could see behind the chair from a better distance and also
have the security of the sofa to hide behind if she was spotted. On her
hands and knees she crept towards the far end of the sofa, the strong,
warm sunlight catching the side of her face as she crawled. Through the
open window she could hear Mr. Jones, the neighbour, mowing his lawn.
The sweet smell of freshly mown grass eased her anxiety as she poked
her head around the corner of the sofa. All clear! She got up and
walked over to the patio doors to check the garden. They were closed
and there was no sign of anyone in the garden, except Spike drinking
from the pond. He really was a bad dog sometimes!

Having survived one possibly dangerous encounter unharmed, Danielle was
feeling braver now. She walked boldly from the lounge into the hall
where the door to the study was closed. There were no good places to
hide in the study but she needed to check the room anyway. She slowly
opened the door and peeked inside. The computer was on and that funny
squiggly line pattern was moving around the screen but there was no one
to be seen. She looked behind the end of the bookshelf where her
brother, Michael, had hidden once but it was really thin so she knew it
was safe this time even before she looked. She left the study and
returned to the hall. It was then, as she looked across the hallway,
that she noticed the door to the cupboard under the stairs was slightly
open! She had used this hiding place a few times herself and knew that
in the dark and behind all the coats you were almost invisible. She
also knew it was impossible to hide in there and close the door behind
you because you couldn't reach the latch. This was surely where he was
hiding. The cupboard where the bogie-man used to live!

As she moved closer to the door her heart felt like it was trying to
escape. Her mouth was all dry inside from the innocent mixture of fear
and excitement. She could not bring herself to open the door straight
away so she shouted at it first. "Got you! Got you! Come out!" she
screamed. There was no reaction from inside the cupboard and the door
remained stubbornly unmoved. She sneaked closer and her little hand
grasped the edge of the door. With one fast movement she swung the door
open and made to run away but she was caught!

It didn't feel human. She let out a little scream and looked to see
what has holding her. Her string and bead bracelet had become caught
around the door latch in her hurry to swing it open. She released the
bracelet quickly and ran back into the lounge, diving onto the sofa and
burying her head in the pillow. She laid there for a moment expecting
someone to grab her, the game finally up. But nobody came.

She walked into the hall once more, this time with her back to the
walls, until she could see deep inside the cupboard. The Hoover and a
collection of wellie boots were in the entrance and behind were the
hanging coats. She looked down, between the bottom of the coats and the
floor. It was not well lit but she was sure she could see some
movement. She looked again and this time was certain she saw a familiar
trousered leg. The leg moved. All doubt and anxiety disappeared in an
instant.

She flew headlong into the cupboard, tripping over the boots and
pushing coats to the side as she moved purposefully towards the dark
hiding place screaming as she went "I found you! I found you!"

Two huge hands came out of the shadows and grabbed her on both sides.
The man half roared, half laughed as he carried her out in to the hall
and swung her around, high in the air. "You got me, princess! I knew it
wouldn't take you long." He kissed her cheek tenderly and stood her
gently on the floor.

"Can we play again daddy, please?" she pleaded. "It's my turn to hide
so close your eyes, count to twenty and then try to find me, okay?"