Chapters (58)
- Cover
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-one
- Twenty-two
- Twenty-three
- Twenty-four
- Twenty-five
- Twenty-six
- Twenty-seven
- Twenty-eight
- Twenty-nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-one
- Thirty-two
- Thirty-three
- Thirty-four
- Thirty-five
- Thirty-six
- Thirty-seven
- Thirty-eight
- Thirty-nine
- Forty
- Forty-one
- Forty-two
- Forty-three
- Forty-four
- Forty-five
- Forty-six
- Forty-seven
- Forty-eight
- Forty-nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-one
- Acknowledgements
- An Eastbourne Murder Mystery
- Canelo Crime
- About the Author
- Also by Sheila Bugler
Behind them, somewhere in the dark night, Kitty could hear them. The men’s voices, shouting to each other as they scanned the countryside, searching for the two girls who’d run out of the house. The roar of a car engine as it started up. She knew the men weren’t going to stop until they’d found the two girls who shouldn’t have been there.
Her stomach heaved. Vomit rose up her throat but she swallowed it down. Images she didn’t want to think about stuck inside her head. If she had a knife right now she’d slice her head open and scoop it all out until there was nothing left.
‘Was that sex?’ Lucy asked. ‘Is that what they were doing up there?’
‘Don’t be stupid.’
‘I’m not stupid.’
‘Yes you are.’ She felt the rage burning through her.
‘Shut up.’
‘You shut up,’ Kitty snarled. ‘Or I’ll make you.’
‘Why are you being so mean to me?’ Lucy said.
‘Because you’re stupid! You’re a stupid little crybaby who never stops moaning. Your parents let you get away with it because they spoil you and they’re scared of doing anything to upset you, so they let you do whatever you want.’
‘That’s not true!’
Lucy shoved her and she stumbled backwards, just managing not to fall.
Vaguely, she was aware of the car coming towards them. Flashes of light illuminating the countryside in the distance. The rumble of the engine, getting closer.
‘My parents love me, that’s all. But you wouldn’t know what that’s like, would you? Your mother has sex with Mr O’Brien and your father’s a loser who spends all his free time in the pub. And I know she hits you because Emer’s told Maeve that your mother doesn’t love you, not even a tiny little bit.’
The rage roared up inside her, she couldn’t help it. She ran forward, screaming loudly, and shoved her hands into Lucy’s stomach. Lucy flew back and, just for a moment, it was the best feeling to watch her friend fall and know she’d pushed Lucy harder than Lucy had managed to push her.
But the moment passed. Bright lights appeared around the bend in the road. Lucy’s body, captured in the lights so she looked like an angel as she fell. A thud as her body landed on the ground and the startling, shocking collision of noises. The roar of the car’s engine, the screeching of the brakes, and the unforgettable crunching sound of a body being crushed under the weight of the car.