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Back Out of the Ashes Save as PDF
Chapters (95)
  1. Cover
  2. PRAISE
  3. About the Author
  4. Dedication
  5. FRIDAY
  6. Rosa, 2 p.m.
  7. Maya, 2.30 p.m.
  8. Maya, 3.30 p.m.
  9. Maya, 3.45 p.m.
  10. Dan, 3.45 p.m.
  11. Maya, 4 p.m.
  12. Maya, 4.30 p.m.
  13. Maya, 5.30 p.m.
  14. Maya, 6 p.m.
  15. Maya, 6.15 p.m.
  16. 6.30 p.m.
  17. Maya, 7.30 p.m.
  18. Maya, 7.45 p.m.
  19. Brick Lane, 1984 – Maya
  20. SATURDAY
  21. Maya, 7 a.m.
  22. Maya, 8.30 a.m.
  23. Maya, 8.45 a.m.
  24. Maya, 9.15 a.m.
  25. Maya, 10 a.m.
  26. 10.30 a.m.
  27. Dan, 11 a.m.
  28. Maya, midday
  29. Maya, 12.30 p.m.
  30. Maya, 1 p.m.
  31. Maya, 1.30 p.m.
  32. Dan, 2.30 p.m.
  33. Dan, 3 p.m.
  34. Maya, 3.30 p.m.
  35. Maya, 4.30 p.m.
  36. Maya, 5.30 p.m.
  37. Dan, 6 p.m.
  38. Maya, 6.45 p.m.
  39. Maya, 7.30 p.m.
  40. Maya, 8.30 p.m.
  41. Dan, 9.30 p.m.
  42. Maya, 10 p.m.
  43. Maya, 10.45 p.m.
  44. 11.30 p.m.
  45. Maya, 11.30 p.m.
  46. Maya, midnight
  47. SUNDAY
  48. Rosa, 7 a.m.
  49. Brick Lane, 1984 – Maya
  50. Maya, 8.30 a.m.
  51. 9 a.m.
  52. Maya, 9.30 a.m.
  53. Maya, 11 a.m.
  54. Dan, 12.30 p.m.
  55. Maya, 12.30 p.m.
  56. Dan, 2.30 p.m.
  57. Maya, 5 p.m.
  58. Maya, 9 p.m.
  59. Feldman’s Newsagent’s, Brick Lane, 1989 – Maya
  60. MONDAY
  61. 8 a.m.
  62. Maya, 8.30 a.m.
  63. Maya, 9 a.m.
  64. Dan, 10.30 a.m.
  65. Maya, 10.30 a.m.
  66. Dan, 11.15 a.m.
  67. Maya, 11.15 a.m.
  68. Maya, midday
  69. Maya, 1 p.m.
  70. Dan, 1.55 p.m.
  71. 2 p.m.
  72. Maya, 3 p.m.
  73. Maya, 4 p.m.
  74. Maya, 6 p.m.
  75. Maya, 7 p.m.
  76. Maya, 8 p.m.
  77. Maya, 8.45 p.m.
  78. Maya, 10 p.m.
  79. Maya, 10.30 p.m.
  80. TUESDAY
  81. Dan, 1 a.m.
  82. Maya, 7.30 a.m.
  83. Maya, 9 a.m.
  84. Maya, 10.30 a.m.
  85. Maya, 11.30 a.m.
  86. Maya, 12.30 p.m.
  87. Maya, 2.30 p.m.
  88. Maya, 4 p.m.
  89. Maya, 5 p.m.
  90. WEDNESDAY
  91. Maya, 8 a.m.
  92. Maya, 9 a.m.
  93. Maya, 10 a.m.
  94. Acknowledgements
  95. About the Publisher

Maya was deep in thought again. After Ali’s murder, she’d been alternately quiet and hyper, and was more determined than ever to find Kenny Hayes.

‘Maya? Do you want a sarnie or shall we knock off?’

‘What? Oh.’ She paused, frowning. ‘Sorry. I can’t for the life of me figure out why Ryan would’ve had a row with someone at the youth centre. He’d have known it could jeopardise his role there. Why risk that when he’d worked so hard to get his life back on track? Everyone’s told us how much he was enjoying his volunteering.’

‘It does seem odd.’

‘In her statement, Nicola Grant said Ryan wasn’t naturally aggressive. What if it wasn’t the way Nilufar’s colleagues saw, and the other guy started on Ryan or deliberately provoked him? Maybe they wanted to get him into trouble or out of the way?’ Her voice was animated. ‘We know Hayes and his brother were using the youth clubs to recruit kids to LfA. What if Ryan knew what they were doing?’

‘And confronted them, you mean?’ Dan asked.

‘It’s possible, isn’t it?’ Maya’s expression was determined. ‘Nicola told me that Ryan was principled, and spoke up when he saw something that wasn’t right. That could be why they killed him and cut his tongue out. He knew what they were up to and threatened to go to the police?’

Dan sensed that Maya was onto something. ‘Ryan was dead when they brought him to the Manor House site. They didn’t need to douse his body with petrol unless they wanted to suggest a link with the arson.’

‘Same with cutting his tongue out and tying an LfA bandana over his mouth.’ Her voice was quiet now. ‘All three things are symbolic, aren’t they? Ryan knew something that whoever killed him wanted kept quiet, I’m sure of it. Not necessarily who the arsonists were, but something that was enough to make someone want to get rid of him.’

Maya, 7.30 a.m.

Maya, 7.30 a.m.

By sunrise, and after four hours sleep, I was back at the office, spooning sugar into a mug of extra-strong coffee while HOLMES loaded on my PC. The sound of footsteps caught my attention.

Alexej stopped at my desk, drumming a bunch of papers with a pen. ‘Still nothing on Abbie,’ he said, his voice tight with worry. ‘Another search team is about to set off.’

‘Oh, God. I hope they find her today. I was about to check for updates.’

‘Good news though. Our old boy, Arthur Monro, called in late last night. Originally, he thought the person he saw going into the rear garden at the soup shop on the morning of the arson was female, but he’s seen the images of Ali Kousa on the TV and says that’s who he saw.’