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Back Rabbit Hole Save as PDF
Chapters (73)
  1. Rabbit Hole
  2. Also by Mark Billingham
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright
  5. Dedication
  6. Epigraph
  7. Preface
  8. PART ONE
  9. ONE
  10. TWO
  11. THREE
  12. FOUR
  13. FIVE
  14. SIX
  15. SEVEN
  16. EIGHT
  17. NINE
  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. THIRTY-TWO
  41. THIRTY-THREE
  42. PART TWO
  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. FIFTY
  60. FIFTY-ONE
  61. FIFTY-TWO
  62. FIFTY-THREE
  63. FIFTY-FOUR
  64. FIFTY-FIVE
  65. FIFTY-SIX
  66. FIFTY-SEVEN
  67. FIFTY-EIGHT
  68. PART THREE
  69. FIFTY-NINE
  70. SIXTY
  71. EPILOGUE
  72. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  73. Back Cover

When my mobile goes off again, I snatch at it, desperate to let fly at that arsehole Howard with some properly abusive language, but it’s not him phoning.

There’s no caller ID.

I answer and grunt a hello.

There’s a few seconds of crackle, half a breath, then the line goes dead.

FORTY-ONE

FORTY-ONE

I try to talk to Lucy while we’re queuing up for dinner, but she ignores me and carries her tray across to a table as far away from mine as possible. Ilias wants to chat, but I don’t let him. I can’t bring myself to eat much anyway so I leave pretty quickly.

I’m all over the place.

I go to be given my final meds of the day, then drift into the music room while everyone else is still eating and grab a paperback. I’m hoping it might distract me a bit. Shaun is the only other person in there but I’m not expecting him to disturb me, and he doesn’t. I keep an eye on him though, just in case he’s got any other messages he wants to send, so with that and the whole Lucy business . . . I find myself reading the same page of the stupid book over and over again.

Lauren saunters in, drops down into the chair next to mine and belches.

‘Reading’s a waste of time,’ she says.

I’m in no mood to rise to her bait. ‘You reckon? And here’s me with you pegged as a bit of a bookworm yourself. You know, knocking out a few songs then relaxing with a bit of Charles Dickens or whatever.’

She doesn’t rise to my bait. She just belches again and calmly gives me the finger. Says, ‘Twat.’

I make a show of going back to my book, but I only manage half of that same bloody page before she leans across.

‘Anyway, I thought you’d be far too busy for reading.’

I put the book down. ‘Yeah?’

‘Yeah . . . you’ve got another case to crack now, haven’t you, Columbo?’

‘Have I?’

She leans even closer, heaving her fat tits across the arm of her chair. ‘I’m guessing your bedroom wall is like one of those . . . boards they always have in the police shows. You know, so the detective can keep track of the murder investigation.’ She’s on a roll now, enjoying herself. I glance across at Shaun, but he doesn’t seem to be paying much attention. ‘So there’s probably a picture of poor old Debbie taped up right in the middle, with her name underneath, and loads of lines and arrows, all drawn in felt-tip on the wall, leading to the people she knew or whatever. To the suspects.’

‘Yeah,’ I say. ‘It’s exactly like that.’

She shows me a few brown or yellow teeth. ‘Unless . . .’