BooksBarbecue
Back No One Home Save as PDF
Chapters (109)
  1. Cover
  2. About the Author
  3. Praise for Tim Weaver
  4. Dedication
  5. Part One
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. Joline
  13. 7
  14. 8
  15. 9
  16. 10
  17. The Motel
  18. 11
  19. 12
  20. Part Two
  21. 13
  22. 14
  23. Caraca
  24. 15
  25. 16
  26. 17
  27. Late-Night Call
  28. 18
  29. 19
  30. 20
  31. Pioneer
  32. Part Three
  33. 21
  34. 22
  35. 23
  36. The Suicide: Part 1
  37. 24
  38. 25
  39. 26
  40. The Suicide: Part 2
  41. 27
  42. 28
  43. 29
  44. Clear: Part 1
  45. 30
  46. 31
  47. Clear: Part 2
  48. Part Four
  49. 32
  50. 33
  51. 34
  52. Monster
  53. 35
  54. 36
  55. 37
  56. Martina: Part 1
  57. Part Five
  58. 38
  59. 39
  60. 40
  61. Martina: Part 2
  62. 41
  63. 42
  64. 43
  65. Dead Ends
  66. 44
  67. Part Six
  68. 45
  69. 46
  70. 47
  71. The Photograph Album
  72. 48
  73. 49
  74. 50
  75. Empty
  76. Part Seven
  77. 51
  78. 52
  79. Retirement: Part 1
  80. 53
  81. 54
  82. 55
  83. 56
  84. Retirement: Part 2
  85. 57
  86. Part Eight
  87. 58
  88. 59
  89. 60
  90. 61
  91. 62
  92. Circle
  93. 63
  94. 64
  95. 65
  96. 66
  97. An Ending
  98. 67
  99. 68
  100. Part Nine
  101. 69
  102. Family
  103. 70
  104. Part Ten
  105. 71
  106. 72
  107. Author’s Note
  108. Acknowledgements
  109. THE BEGINNING

‘Mills came back for me later, got me up and locked me in that shack,’ Jo went on, her eyes on the flames licking the chimney, ‘and when I tried to ask him what was going on, tried to talk through the gag, he just told me to stay put and stay quiet, and then he left me. I had no clock, no way of knowing how long I was there, but it must have been a day. I saw a sunrise and a sunset. And then, finally, I heard some voices.’

Mills and me.

‘Do you remember much about how you got here?’ she asked.

‘This place?’ I shook my head. ‘You?’

‘I was heavily sedated, so a lot of it was just background. Maybe an engine. Maybe some traffic noise. They blindfolded me, taped my mouth, put things over my ears, so even when I felt lucid, it wasn’t like I could make use of my senses.’

‘Do you remember being in a tight space?’

‘That I do remember.’

‘Do you remember anything about it?’

‘Just that it was like being in a coffin, not a trunk.’

I’d thought the same thing.

‘What about the sequence G76984Z – does that mean anything?’

She frowned. ‘No. What is it?’

‘I don’t know,’ I said, rubbing at my eyes. ‘I can’t figure it out.’

We talked some more, about who she was, who I was, our families, our cases, about the double murder that had marked the beginning of her hunt for Adrian Vale. I talked about my search for answers at Black Gale, about Patrick Perry and Freda Davey, and then about the closure Freda had sought in asking for Patrick’s help. As I spoke about it, I started to feel emotional again, the words catching in my throat, and I realized I was probably in a delayed state of shock, one that wasn’t even necessarily provoked by this case. I’d barely got over what had happened to me at Christmas and now I was here, twenty minutes from nine bodies in the ground, mourning their loss, the loss of Beatrix Steards, and the forty-six days I’d spent in darkness and silence.

I thought I’d been ready for this case.

I’d told Healy I wasn’t broken.

But I was.

I was hurting.

And the next morning, I found out how much.

Penguin Walking Logo

Part Nine

HOME

69