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Back The Bad Place Save as PDF
Chapters (72)
  1. Cover
  2. THE BAD PLACE
  3. Contents
  4. Copyright
  5. Dedication
  6. Epigraph
  7. 1
  8. 2
  9. 3
  10. 4
  11. 5
  12. 6
  13. 7
  14. 8
  15. 9
  16. 10
  17. 11
  18. 12
  19. 13
  20. 14
  21. 15
  22. 16
  23. 17
  24. 18
  25. 19
  26. 20
  27. 21
  28. 22
  29. 23
  30. 24
  31. 25
  32. 26
  33. 27
  34. 28
  35. 29
  36. 30
  37. 31
  38. 32
  39. 33
  40. 34
  41. 35
  42. 36
  43. 37
  44. 38
  45. 39
  46. 40
  47. 41
  48. 42
  49. 43
  50. 44
  51. 45
  52. 46
  53. 47
  54. 48
  55. 49
  56. 50
  57. 51
  58. 52
  59. 53
  60. 54
  61. 55
  62. 56
  63. 57
  64. 58
  65. 59
  66. 60
  67. 61
  68. 62
  69. 63
  70. Acknowledgements
  71. About the author
  72. An Invitation from the Publisher

Karin couldn’t argue with him. She couldn’t continue, not if she was somehow implicated in the kidnappings – not if it put other children in danger. And now, with what had happened to Lydia…

Karin wished she had never gone to the estate last night, wished she had stayed away…

‘I understand, I’ll go, I don’t want to cause any more trouble.’

Her phone vibrated again, and she held her breath.

u dont ♥ me no more

u ♥ that police bitch

BeXxx

She typed:

No!!!! I love you!!!!

XXXX

The headmaster frowned at her inattention. ‘Karin?’

She stood, heart pounding, waiting for the reply.

…

…

…

prove it

u have 2 make a choice

42

The Ninth Day…

Karin lay in Becky’s arms.

‘I know it’s hard, but you are being very brave.’

‘But why does it have to be me?’ Karin pressed herself against her friend on the concrete floor of the basement. ‘Why do I have to be the one who goes upstairs?’

It was easy to lose track of how long they had been there. With no window and the constant light from the bulb, the days and nights all merged into one, and it was only because Jerry Swann took Karin upstairs every evening at dusk and brought her back down again in the early hours that they had any sense of passing time.

The kids were cold and starved and exhausted, and slept as much as they could on the dirty blankets, but Karin didn’t have that luxury. She felt fear and revulsion at the thought of having to go upstairs with Jerry every night, she didn’t want to be near him, she didn’t want to be his friend, all she wanted to do was stay in Becky’s arms. But in the evening, they would hear the lock snap and Jerry would take her to the table in the kitchen where she would be forced to spend hours listening to his mad ramblings.

He told her about all the people he had ‘disappeared’, all the people he had harmed – the people he had killed.

Jerry spoke for hours about the terrible things he had done, and went into excruciating detail. He explained what he did to the men and women who had displeased him, crossed him or been unkind, the random people he had followed home and murdered. He had killed his own mother too, he said, and she was buried beneath the smooth floor of the basement, the empty sockets of her skull filled with hard concrete. Karin daren’t tell Becky about that.