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Back Every Little Secret Save as PDF
Chapters (81)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Prologue
  4. Chapter One
  5. Chapter Two
  6. Chapter Three
  7. Chapter Four
  8. Chapter Five
  9. Chapter Six
  10. Chapter Seven
  11. Chapter Eight
  12. Chapter Nine
  13. Chapter Ten
  14. Chapter Eleven
  15. Chapter Twelve
  16. Chapter Thirteen
  17. Chapter Fourteen
  18. Chapter Fifteen
  19. Chapter Sixteen
  20. Chapter Seventeen
  21. Chapter Eighteen
  22. Chapter Nineteen
  23. Chapter Twenty
  24. Chapter Twenty-One
  25. Chapter Twenty-Two
  26. Chapter Twenty-Three
  27. Chapter Twenty-Four
  28. Chapter Twenty-Five
  29. Chapter Twenty-Six
  30. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  31. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  32. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  33. Chapter Thirty
  34. Chapter Thirty-One
  35. Chapter Thirty-Two
  36. Chapter Thirty-Three
  37. Chapter Thirty-Four
  38. Chapter Thirty-Five
  39. Chapter Thirty-Six
  40. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  41. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  42. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  43. Chapter Forty
  44. Chapter Forty-One
  45. Chapter Forty-Two
  46. Chapter Forty-Three
  47. Chapter Forty-Four
  48. Chapter Forty-Five
  49. Chapter Forty-Six
  50. Chapter Forty-Seven
  51. Chapter Forty-Eight
  52. Chapter Forty-Nine
  53. Chapter Fifty
  54. Chapter Fifty-One
  55. Chapter Fifty-Two
  56. Chapter Fifty-Three
  57. Chapter Fifty-Four
  58. Chapter Fifty-Five
  59. Chapter Fifty-Six
  60. Chapter Fifty-Seven
  61. Chapter Fifty-Eight
  62. Chapter Fifty-Nine
  63. Chapter Sixty
  64. Chapter Sixty-One
  65. Chapter Sixty-Two
  66. Chapter Sixty-Three
  67. Chapter Sixty-Four
  68. Chapter Sixty-Five
  69. Chapter Sixty-Six
  70. Chapter Sixty-Seven
  71. Chapter Sixty-Eight
  72. Chapter Sixty-Nine
  73. Chapter Seventy
  74. Chapter Seventy-One
  75. Chapter Seventy-Two
  76. Chapter Seventy-Three
  77. Chapter Seventy-Four
  78. A Letter From Ruby
  79. Acknowledgements
  80. About the Author
  81. Also by Ruby Speechley

As she draws, she listens out for the front door, hoping to hear Adam’s key turn in the lock. She glances up from her sketch pad at the French windows. It’s almost dark outside. The parasol Adam never bothered to put away is flapping in the wind. A duplicate of the room is reflected in the black glass; the sofa, TV, house plants and lights look like they are out in the garden, overlapping images of reality.

From where she is sitting, the tree isn’t visible and even standing at the window, her ghostly face looking back at her, she imagines its branches reaching out towards her. If someone were standing out there, looking in, she wouldn’t be able to see them.

The room is quiet except for the sound of Poppy snuffling then licking the floor. What if someone was watching her? She’s all alone in the house with a child; it would only take someone to note her movements to know that. She wants curtains. He’s always said no because of the extra expense but three panels of voiles would surely be better than nothing?

She sits back at her drawing pad and sketches the features in the bark. She believes that if she can get this down, she’ll stop dreaming about it. Her hand moves quickly across the paper, smudging here, pressing more heavily there. She draws the children sitting under the tree, not wounded as in the dream, but smiling and laughing. If they had an axe in the shed, she’d like to go outside and chop the bloody thing down. Adam would go mental, but she must keep Jamie safe. Adam said he understands her fears, but that boys need to climb trees. She often wonders how they would have coped had things turned out worse that day. The thought of it makes her shiver. She stares at the front door, willing him to walk in.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Maddy: October 2019

Maddy takes her mum’s Liberty print scarf out of her dressing table drawer and wraps it around her neck and shoulders. She’s started wearing the garnet necklace Mum wore every day too. It’s in the shape of a heart and outlined with tiny diamonds. Feeling close to Mum will give her the strength she needs to get through this nightmare.

Today is a teacher training day, so she’s promised to take Emily to a soft play centre. Not her usual one, she tells her in the car on the way, but a new one she’s heard about in Huntingdon.