17. woodpile.He could instinctively tell where the shot had come from

but he couldn’t see any movement.
Damn it!
He was unarmed.
He could do nothing else but stay low. He noticed that Oscar was carefully peering out of one of his side windows too. He had heard the shot and immediately feared for Richard’s life. There was much local rumour that was still alive in Wild Bay about the two deceased. Ugly rumours that he hadn’t wished to tell Richard about. Of course; he wished now that maybe he had. Richard could never have guessed that he had in fact given his attacker completely the wrong impression about himself by his questioning at The Community Centre earlier in the day.
He wanted Richard to leave things alone. His shot was meant to be a warning to stay away from what was none of his business. In a sense he was right. Richard had no family ties to either of the deceased and he had no personal grudge to settle of any kind. His attacker didn’t realise that Richard was driven by a higher power. He had to know the truth.
After about 20 minutes Richard crawled out from his hiding place and he was away. He was shaken but now fiercely determined to pursue this matter. Nobody had ever taken a shot at Richard Ap Meurig and lived to tell the tale. He believed that whoever had fired that shot was already a dead man.
Richard composed himself as he walked up the wooden flight of 15 steps to Sam and Lizzie’s home.
He knocked on the door and waited.
He hadn’t seen them for 33 years. After a short delay Lizzie opened the door to greet him with open arms. “Richard, really you? You’re back. I heard tell that you were out here again visiting us but I couldn’t believe it.