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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

It is another half an hour before Maddy sees the side gate open and Alison wheel the dustbin out to the pavement. Ducking down, she can just about see her wander out to the road, hands on hips looking in her direction. Any moment, Maddy expects her to march over and bang on her window, demand to know what she’s up to. But a woman is calling out to her. Maddy strains to see above the steering wheel. It’s an old lady from the house next door. The two neighbours meet in the middle of the cul-de-sac. Alison chats with one hand supporting her back. Twice she points to her house and in the direction of the car. Maddy sinks lower in her seat as far as her bump will allow her. She grips the handle of the door. They look as though they’re about to storm over. She’ll have to start the car and back out as fast as she can. But one of them spots the wreath. Alison strides over, her hands are over her mouth. She picks it up and chucks it in her garden waste bin.

Maddy takes a deep breath and peeks over the wheel one more time. The old lady waves goodbye. Alison goes back through the gate. Maddy puts a hand to her chest. Her heart won’t stop thumping. She starts the car, hands shaking and checks in the mirror to back out of the road. A smile leaks from her lips but when she blinks it’s her mum’s face beaming back at her.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Alison: October 2019

Alison arrives home from the shops with a couple of house plants to replace the dead ones. She doesn’t want Adam to think she can’t look after them. She hands a couple of bags of shopping to Jamie to take to the door and picks up a couple herself.

A full-length mirror is propped up sideways against next door’s skip, a big crack in the glass. Can’t be theirs, surely. She stands in front of it, the lower half of her legs and new kitten heel slingbacks are displaced in each broken piece. Jamie pulls at the door handle, whinging that he’s missing Batman. She lets him in and he dips under her arm while she’s still holding the key in the door. A large parcel addressed to her has been brought inside. Must be her new suede boots. The dog runs past her, onto the drive. She calls him back in and he follows her up to her bedroom. Her mirror, normally against the wall by the window, has gone. ‘What the hell?’ she says aloud.