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Back Familiar Strangers Save as PDF
Chapters (71)
  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. A Letter from Jackie
  69. Acknowledgements
  70. About the Author
  71. Also by Jackie Walsh

‘But Danny doesn’t like Bert. Doesn’t even speak to him. Why would he check up on him?’ It’s then I realize he must have called to confront him over the coat.

The SUV’s lights brighten up the whole street when Danny drives off.

Bert’s house is in complete darkness. With a trembling finger I press the doorbell. No answer. I try again, holding the button down for longer; still no answer. Then I bang, not so loud as to wake the neighbors but loud enough that Bert should hear. Still no answer. Stepping back, I look up at the house to see if a light is coming on, but no, there’s no sign of life here. Maybe Bert’s not at home. Placing my ear up against the door I listen for any signs of him moving around inside the house. Nothing. A wasted journey. Jeff won’t be happy I dragged him all the way out here for nothing.

To my right is a wooden fence at the side of the house. It’s tall, not one I could climb easily. The gate in the middle is always locked so that’s a no-no. Bert is a fanatic about security. Locks, chains, alarms. Edith used to get bawled out if she overlooked any of his security measures. I remember hearing him once. I was about fourteen at the time and he was going on about the ruthless people, the robbers, how they would take anything. Edith stood with her back to him, listening, pulling faces, trying to make me laugh. I did laugh.

Moving closer to the fence I get a shiver down my spine. Where’s Bert? I push the gate, not expecting it to open, but it does. Swings at my touch. This scares me even more. Something isn’t right. Feeling like a criminal, I look up at the rear of the house, but there’s no light on here either. ‘Bert? Bert,’ I call in a hoarse whisper. He’s not going to hear me, I know, but it’s just something I do. I need answers; I need to talk to this man.

Scattered leaves crunch beneath my feet. That’s not like Bert either. He’s usually standing at the trunk of the tree with his yard brush waiting for the leaves to fall so he can gather them all into the recycling bin he’s so proud of. Maybe Bert is sick, lying in bed on his own, unable to move, unable to reach the phone.