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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

As the boys go outside, the tattooed man is walking away from them, down Ruskin Road. The boys’ route is along Belmont Avenue. Evan pops the tab of his Fanta and Stewie offers him a couple of his crisps. Their schoolbags – one for sports kit, one for books – are heavy, and, since he’s small for his age, Evan’s slow him down. There’s a bus approaching, but Evan doesn’t run to catch it because he hasn’t finished his drink, and the driver won’t let him on unless he dumps it. No one is waiting at the stop, and the bus sails by.

When they reach the bus shelter, the boys part company casually, expecting to be talking online in a while. Stewie walks on alone towards Church Road, and home. Evan lays his bags down on the pavement.

Seven minutes later, the next bus arrives, but Evan is no longer waiting at the stop. He and his bags are gone, but his can of pop is lying on its side, seeping sticky liquid into the gutter.

Evan’s mum Claire has tea ready at six o’clock, but Evan isn’t home. At quarter past, more annoyed than worried, she calls Stewie, who tells her what he can – which isn’t much – and Claire thanks him. As she ends the call, the first tendrils of worry tighten in her stomach. When the door slams at six-thirty, her eyes close in relief, but it isn’t Evan who comes into the kitchen, but Matt. He tells her not to worry, and she starts making more calls. By seven, they’re both beginning to panic, though Matt’s hiding his fear with confident bluster. At eight, they ring the police. By the time they’re taken seriously, it’s gone eleven.

And by that time, Evan’s in a very bad place indeed.

TWO

TWO

Stewie’s mother Vicky switches on the bedside light and checks the time: 1.42 a.m. Someone’s hammering at the front door, firing up a long-held dread of uniforms and bad news, but Paul’s there in bed beside her, and Stewie and George are in their rooms. For a moment, Vicky doubts these certainties, and reaches out to touch Paul’s back. His breathing changes, becoming quicker and shallower than the slow rhythms of deep sleep, and she knows he’s at least half awake.

‘There’s someone at the door.’

She feels him tensing as he listens, but there’s nothing to hear.

‘You’re dreaming,’ he says. ‘For God’s sake, turn that light off.’

The hammering comes again. Now Paul’s wide awake.

‘Who the hell is that?’ He squints towards the clock, but without his glasses, he can’t read the face. ‘What time is it?’