BooksBarbecue
Back Cut to the Bone Save as PDF
Chapters (71)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise for Cut to the Bone
  3. About the Author
  4. Also by Roz Watkins
  5. Note to Readers
  6. Dedication
  7. 1
  8. 2
  9. 3
  10. 4
  11. 5
  12. 6
  13. 7
  14. 8
  15. 9
  16. 10
  17. 11
  18. 12
  19. 13
  20. 14
  21. 15
  22. 16
  23. 17
  24. 18
  25. 19
  26. 20
  27. 21
  28. 22
  29. 23
  30. 24
  31. 25
  32. 26
  33. 27
  34. 28
  35. 29
  36. 30
  37. 31
  38. 32
  39. 33
  40. 34
  41. 35
  42. 36
  43. 37
  44. 38
  45. 39
  46. 40
  47. 41
  48. 42
  49. 43
  50. 44
  51. 45
  52. 46
  53. 47
  54. 48
  55. 49
  56. 50
  57. 51
  58. 52
  59. 53
  60. 54
  61. 55
  62. 56
  63. 57
  64. 58
  65. 59
  66. Extract
  67. Prologue
  68. Chapter 1
  69. Author’s note
  70. Acknowledgements
  71. About the Publisher

‘We need to go to the police. They’ll take DNA. They can test the boys and find out who it was.’

‘But, Bex …’ Her dad laid his hand gently on her arm. ‘You were wearing an awfully flimsy dress. You had so much to drink that you passed out.’

Bex’s eyes crept up to his face, searching out the shape of the betrayal. ‘What are you saying?’

‘We can’t go to the police with this, Bex. Nobody will have any sympathy for you. You drank yourself unconscious. You don’t remember. The best thing is we all pretend this sorry incident never happened.’

33

Meg – Present day

Wednesday

I pulled up on the cobbles outside my house and scrambled from the car. All I could think of was getting properly clean. I’d washed the worst of the blood off in a communal shower block and bundled my clothes and the doll’s face mask into evidence bags, and Daniel had lent me clean jogging bottoms and a T-shirt, but I could still smell the metallic tang. So much blood. Every time I shut my eyes, I saw it flying at me in a pungent wave of red.

I pushed open my front door, feeling that old twinge of anxiety. I hadn’t quite recovered from having dead-sister dolls shoved through it earlier in the year, and now I was being attacked all over again. Attacked by Justice for Violet for being a vegetarian and now attacked by the Animal Vigilantes because I’d happened to be with Daniel. I was in danger of giving in to self-pity.

My spirits lifted when I smelled cooking. The post had been piled neatly on the bookcase and it even looked like the floor had been vacuumed.

I shouted to Dad, ‘Hello! I’m just having a wash,’ and legged it upstairs and into the shower before he could see the state of me. I turned my face into the warm water and replayed what had happened. I hadn’t seen the faces of the people who’d thrown the blood at us. I remembered Daniel had started saying something which had felt important. About his little brother.

I felt a whole lot better when I’d cleaned myself up. I headed for the kitchen. ‘Wow, Dad, are you making food?’

‘Yes. Sit down, let me pour you a gin and tonic to start and then you can have a glass of wine with the meal. I got us some nice local gin and a bottle of Chablis.’

I certainly needed alcohol. ‘Blimey, you can stay more often.’