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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

Claire is sad to be leaving. Matt’s business commitments have called him back to the office, and Claire wants to spend time with him at home, but she will miss Evan badly. She’ll miss Jack too, and the farm; she’s come to love the peace of its isolation almost as much as Evan does, and the gentle routine of its unhurried days is soothing to her soul. She’s found time for things she never thought she’d enjoy – baking and reading – and she’s dared to have a go at knitting with some of Dora’s old yarn.

She’s put one of her bags in the car boot, and she’s hurrying back to the kitchen through the driving rain when the phone rings. Jack’s sitting on the sofa, and it seems a shame to make him get up, so she answers it herself.

‘Is that Claire? I’m glad I’ve found you. It’s Rose Yazici here, from Ashridge police station. How are you doing?’

‘I’m fine,’ says Claire. She remembers Rose: the pretty one who looked after Evan when he was interviewed at Harrogate. ‘You just caught me. I’m heading back south today. We’ve all been up here for Christmas. I think Matt’s feeling it, coming home to an empty house every night, so I think it’s time I did my wifely duty.’

‘I’m glad you’ve had a good break,’ says Rose. ‘Recharged your batteries. I’m afraid you’re going to need to be at peak resilience.’

Claire’s heart sinks.

‘Why?’

‘It’s good news, in many ways. I’d have come to talk to you in person, only we don’t have the budget to keep making the trip.’

‘I don’t mind,’ says Claire. ‘Please, just tell me what’s going on.’

‘We’ve had a breakthrough in Evan’s case. We’ve made some arrests.’

Claire sits down heavily on the stairs.

‘You’re kidding me. After all this time.’

‘We haven’t gone public yet because the operation’s ongoing and there are more suspects out there we don’t want to abscond. And of course we want you to know before it’s in the press. There’s even better news. We’ve found Liam Keslake.’

‘Oh my God.’ Tears fill Claire’s eyes. ‘Is he OK?’

‘I wouldn’t want to say that, not to you. You know better than anyone that there are degrees of OK. But he’s alive, and going back home to his family as soon as the doctors give permission. Not only that, we’ve rescued another child, a girl who isn’t known to us. We think she may be from Eastern Europe, but at the moment she’s too traumatised to speak.’

‘So where was this? Where did you find them?’