By the time she finally got through the pile it was way past her bedtime and her parents had gone upstairs over an hour before. She stretched and got up from the table, and packed her books away in her briefcase. She hated leaving anything in a mess.

Then she went into the kitchen and checked the cat's food bowls. There were some biscuits, but no meat left. And that had been the last tin. Frowning, she went to the cupboard to see if she could find anything suitable and, amazingly, ...