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Chapters (62)
  1. Title
  2. Copyright
  3. Contents
  4. About the Author
  5. About the Book
  6. Dedication
  7. Your Worst Nightmare
  8. ONE
  9. TWO
  10. THREE
  11. FOUR
  12. FIVE
  13. SIX
  14. SEVEN
  15. EIGHT
  16. NINE
  17. The Answer to All Your Prayers
  18. TEN
  19. ELEVEN
  20. TWELVE
  21. THIRTEEN
  22. FOURTEEN
  23. FIFTEEN
  24. SIXTEEN
  25. SEVENTEEN
  26. EIGHTEEN
  27. NINETEEN
  28. TWENTY
  29. TWENTY-ONE
  30. TWENTY-TWO
  31. TWENTY-THREE
  32. TWENTY-FOUR
  33. TWENTY-FIVE
  34. TWENTY-SIX
  35. TWENTY-SEVEN
  36. TWENTY-EIGHT
  37. TWENTY-NINE
  38. THIRTY
  39. THIRTY-ONE
  40. Somebody Else’s Child
  41. THIRTY-TWO
  42. THIRTY-THREE
  43. THIRTY-FOUR
  44. THIRTY-FIVE
  45. THIRTY-SIX
  46. THIRTY-SEVEN
  47. THIRTY-EIGHT
  48. THIRTY-NINE
  49. FORTY
  50. FORTY-ONE
  51. FORTY-TWO
  52. FORTY-THREE
  53. FORTY-FOUR
  54. FORTY-FIVE
  55. FORTY-SIX
  56. FORTY-SEVEN
  57. FORTY-EIGHT
  58. FORTY-NINE
  59. Sunlight on Water
  60. July
  61. September
  62. Acknowledgements

She doesn’t wait for his response but buries her face in her hands and begins to rock.

‘Our boy!’ she moans. ‘Our poor, precious boy!’

Jack puts an arm around her back and, now she isn’t looking at him, lets the tears fall. Several leave dark spots on his trousers.

‘It might be nothing, love,’ he says, pulling her close. He kisses the top of her head, the grey curls which used to be mahogany brown, and breathes in the smell of lemon shampoo. ‘He might easily turn up yet, right as rain. There might have been a falling out, and he’s packed his bags to give his mum and dad a fright.’

Dora’s clinging to him in a way she hasn’t done for years. There’s a handkerchief embroidered with violets in the pocket of her robe. She pulls it out and blows her nose.

‘What shall we do, Jack?’

Jack kisses her hair again.

‘Matt says the police think if he’s run away, there’s a chance he might aim for here, so we’re best to sit tight. He doesn’t want us to go down there right away. He says they’ve got all on coping with the police and the reporters. Sounds like they’ve a house full. If he wants us, he’ll let us know.’

‘We should put the telly on,’ says Dora. ‘The news’ll be on at six.’

‘Matt thinks it’ll upset you.’

‘That boy.’ Dora wipes her eyes. ‘I’m tougher than he thinks.’

Jack stands.

‘I’ll make a fresh pot and get the fires lit,’ he says. ‘If Evan does turn up here, he’ll doubtless be chilled to the bone. And you’d better get yourself dressed, love, and put your baking apron on. You know if he comes, the boy’ll be wanting your cake.’

FOUR

FOUR

‘It’s just routine,’ says the policewoman.

She’s balancing on the edge of the sofa as if she’s afraid someone might catch her sitting down, an attractive girl but young and slight, not someone Matt thinks would be of any use in the face of town centre drunks or civil disobedience. But she’s a good choice for keeping him and Claire confined to the lounge, if only because he thinks she’ll crumble if he shouts at her.

Matt has seen overnight changes in Claire, but none so big as in himself. The calm, reasonable man he believed himself to be has been shoved aside, making way for Matt the volatile bully, who rants and yells and can pretend no respect for those trying to help him and his family. But this new persona exhausts him, his mouthy outbursts a bigger drain of energy than the worry and no sleep, and he’s glad to lapse for a time into meek compliance.