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Back The Cottage Save as PDF
Chapters (82)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. ONE
  4. TWO
  5. THREE
  6. FOUR
  7. FIVE
  8. SIX
  9. SEVEN
  10. EIGHT
  11. NINE
  12. TEN
  13. ELEVEN
  14. TWELVE
  15. THIRTEEN
  16. FOURTEEN
  17. FIFTEEN
  18. SIXTEEN
  19. SEVENTEEN
  20. EIGHTEEN
  21. NINETEEN
  22. TWENTY
  23. TWENTY-ONE
  24. TWENTY-TWO
  25. TWENTY-THREE
  26. TWENTY-FOUR
  27. TWENTY-FIVE
  28. TWENTY-SIX
  29. TWENTY-SEVEN
  30. TWENTY-EIGHT
  31. TWENTY-NINE
  32. THIRTY
  33. THIRTY-ONE
  34. THIRTY-TWO
  35. THIRTY-THREE
  36. THIRTY-FOUR
  37. THIRTY-FIVE
  38. THIRTY-SIX
  39. THIRTY-SEVEN
  40. THIRTY-EIGHT
  41. THIRTY-NINE
  42. FORTY
  43. FORTY-ONE
  44. FORTY-TWO
  45. FORTY-THREE
  46. FORTY-FOUR
  47. FORTY-FIVE
  48. FORTY-SIX
  49. FORTY-SEVEN
  50. FORTY-EIGHT
  51. FORTY-NINE
  52. FIFTY
  53. FIFTY-ONE
  54. FIFTY-TWO
  55. FIFTY-THREE
  56. FIFTY-FOUR
  57. FIFTY-FIVE
  58. FIFTY-SIX
  59. FIFTY-SEVEN
  60. FIFTY-EIGHT
  61. FIFTY-NINE
  62. SIXTY
  63. SIXTY-ONE
  64. SIXTY-TWO
  65. SIXTY-THREE
  66. SIXTY-FOUR
  67. SIXTY-FIVE
  68. SIXTY-SIX
  69. SIXTY-SEVEN
  70. SIXTY-EIGHT
  71. SIXTY-NINE
  72. SEVENTY
  73. SEVENTY-ONE
  74. SEVENTY-TWO
  75. SEVENTY-THREE
  76. SEVENTY-FOUR
  77. Suggested topics for reading-group discussion
  78. Keep Reading …
  79. Lisa Stone also writes under the name of Cathy Glass.Don’t miss her latest book …
  80. About the Author
  81. Books by Lisa Stone
  82. About the Publisher

Ian turned his car around and drove to the other end of Dells Lane. He parked between cars, switched off the headlights and prepared to wait. At some point Anne would leave to take the dogs for a walk and he would follow her and perhaps try again. He’d come here hoping for answers, but now he had even more questions. Some that he could barely consider and made his stomach churn. All those dead babies listed in Moller’s files with Anne’s initials beside them. She must be involved. Could it be that under cover of darkness she was using her van to transport baby parts to laboratories for research? She would get paid a fee. Is that why she’d been so on edge and had lied? Or even more macabre, was she burying dead babies to cover up a crime? Ian shuddered at the possibility.

At 7.30 Ian saw headlamps in his wing mirror coming from the far end of the lane where Anne lived. Was she in her car or the van? He kept his head turned away as she passed. She was in the van. It stopped at the end of Dells Lane and indicated to turn right, the same as last night. Ian started his car but waited until she’d pulled out and had made the turn before he followed.

He kept a safe distance between them so she wouldn’t be able to identify him in her mirrors. The fog helped. It had thickened in the last half an hour, and sometimes all he could see of her van was the red glow of its taillights.

He followed her along the High Road that ran through Melton and out the other side. They were now heading towards Merryless. Ian knew this road. He kept his distance and concentrated on the taillights. A little further along, Anne took the turning signposted to Coleshaw Woods. Ian dropped back so she wouldn’t become suspicious. There was only the two of them now, driving on this side of the road, with the occasional car coming in the opposite direction. Half a mile or so further on she turned left down a single-track lane.

Ian waited until her taillights had disappeared before he followed. The lane didn’t go anywhere but into the woods. He’d come here for walks in the summer as a child. It had been pleasant then, but now the mist and darkness gave it a sinister edge, which added to his unease. He admired Anne’s tenacity to come here all alone. But was it really necessary to come this far to walk dogs? Were they really that dangerous? Surely there were less isolated places she could have gone? Unless she wasn’t walking dogs at all but burying dead babies. In which case it would be ideal. Ian grimaced at the thought.