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Back Sinner Save as PDF
Chapters (56)
  1. SINNER
  2. Dedication
  3. Epigraph
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. 35
  39. 36
  40. 37
  41. 38
  42. 39
  43. 40
  44. 41
  45. 42
  46. 43
  47. 44
  48. 45
  49. 46
  50. 47
  51. 48
  52. Acknowledgements
  53. Keep Reading …
  54. About the Author
  55. Also by Jacqui Rose
  56. About the Publisher

Nervously looking around, Franny took a deep breath. She rubbed her head, massaging her temples. Christ, it felt like she was losing it; this was so unlike her and she hated the way it was making her feel. Or maybe she just needed to sleep, put her head down and get some rest – perhaps that’s all it was. After all it had been days since she’d had a proper night’s sleep. Yeah, maybe that’s all it was …

Determined to pull herself together, Franny picked up the spade and convincing herself her shaking was just from the cold and nothing else, she began to dig.

Two and a half hours later, having dug the shallow grave, which was much more difficult and took more physical effort than she had imagined, Franny rolled Bree’s body into the grave. She winced at the thud of Bree’s body hitting the bottom of the grave before shovelling earth back on top of it. Trying to push her emotions to one side, knowing this was the only way forward, Franny flattened out the ground surface, placing leaves and branches over it, then carefully undid the sachets of fox repellent and scattered the powder all over the area.

Exhausted but having finally finished, Franny picked up the spade and walked slowly through the mist-strewn forest, unable to shake the feeling that someone was watching her.

25

Walking back into the empty house in Soho Square, Franny headed for the shower. She bagged up the clothes she’d been wearing in a black bin liner, knowing that she needed to get rid of them as soon as possible along with the suitcase of Bree’s belongings, which was still in the back of her car. There were a number of rubbish dumps just outside London, so getting rid of the stuff would not only be easy, but also totally under the radar.

As she stepped into the steaming shower, the water pounded down on Franny. She could feel the burn of the water on her chest. The sting against her skin, the pain of it scorching her body. She closed her eyes and sank to the floor, burying her head into her knees as she began to wail. As the water continued to buffet down, she scrunched her eyes tightly, desperate to shake the image of Bree’s dead, staring eyes, and of little Mia.

‘Fran?’

Franny looked up, brushing her wet hair away from her face. She gave a small smile as she looked at Alfie.

‘Hey, Franny, what’s wrong, darlin’?’ Alfie, looking worried, stared at Franny. She couldn’t really remember a time when he’d seen her cry like this.

Uncomfortable with her own emotions, Franny shrugged. ‘You caught me feeling sorry for myself.’