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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

Dr Mellor had nodded wisely, as if what Matt was saying made sense to her. ‘That’s hardly surprising. Subconsciously, he’s retreated into childhood, to a time where he felt safe.’

‘So what can we do about it?’

Dr Mellor shook her head. ‘At the moment, your only option is to wait.’

How long the wait would be – weeks, months or years – she wasn’t prepared to guess. The day before Evan’s next scheduled appointment, she rang and said she thought it better to put the counselling on hold, postpone it until Evan was further down the road to recovery.

‘Claire was pretty pissed off, considering the shrink was supposed to be the road to recovery,’ says Matt. ‘She thinks they’ve abandoned us.’

‘And what do you think?’

‘I think he’s better left alone for a while, to let him try and get his head in some sort of order.’

‘So he still hasn’t given a statement?’

‘Not a chance. What gets me is, if the police had got anyone in their sights, or were close to arresting anybody or even had the slightest idea where to look, they’d have him down there every day, asking him questions. My worry is, the longer he stays silent, the harder it’ll be to break the habit.’ He takes a drink of the warming whisky. ‘I don’t know, Dad. I just want our old Evan. Do you ever wish you could turn the clock back?’

‘Just lately, all the time,’ says Jack. ‘But if wishes were horses . . .’

‘. . . Beggars would ride. It’s a stupid saying.’

‘And how’s Claire?’

‘As you saw her. Drinking too much, but that’s rich, coming from me.’

‘You want another?’

‘Best not. I don’t want a thick head in the morning.’

‘Have a small one with me,’ says Jack, getting up to fetch the bottle. ‘You wouldn’t want to leave your old dad drinking alone.’

TWENTY-ONE

TWENTY-ONE

13 August

It’s been a busy week. On Saturday, glad of a lie-in, Naylor stays in bed till after eleven, until her usually placid ginger cat decides it’s waited too long to be fed and wakes her by jumping on the bed. She’s hungry too and would love a proper breakfast. As usual, though, there’s very little in the fridge.

After a long, hot shower, she puts on jeans and a T-shirt, flip-flops and sunglasses, and heads out. At Waitrose, the car park’s busy, and she has a long walk to the store. Passing one of the trolley return stations, she catches sight of a familiar face, unloading bags into the back of a car.

He’s looking good in casual clothes. Sensing he’s being watched, he looks across and smiles, and she’s smiling back, until she sees there’s someone else in the picture: a pretty blonde climbing into the front seat of Dallabrida’s white Audi.