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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

‘Oh, Emma, you wouldn’t! It would destroy your father. And it’s not fair on the donor either. He made that gift to help childless couples like us, not because he wanted a family of his own.’

‘I don’t want to be his daughter!’ Emma cried passionately. ‘I don’t even want to meet him. Dad is my father and always will be. I was just thinking of contacting the clinic and asking for details about the donor’s genetic history.’

‘No, love, let it go. Don’t go looking for trouble. You and Ian have each other. Not everyone is meant to have children.’ Which was ironic, Emma thought, coming from her mother, who’d gone to such lengths to conceive her.

‘I’ll give it some more thought,’ Emma said. It was the only truthful reassurance she could give her.

ELEVEN

DC Beth Mayes was driving the unmarked police car on the return journey to Coleshaw Police Station. Her colleague DC Matt Davis was in the passenger seat. They’d just come from interviewing Charlie Bates, a member of a local family of hardened criminals. He’d only been released from prison the previous day and was already suspected of taking part in an armed robbery.

The car phone rang and Matt answered it. ‘Have you finished with Mr Bates?’ DS Bert Scrivener asked.

‘For now,’ Matt replied. ‘We’re on our way back.’

‘Can you take a detour to 55 Booth Lane and visit Mrs Angela Slater? Beth knows what it’s in connection with.’

‘I phoned her yesterday, sir,’ Beth said. ‘I told her the outcome of my visit to Mr and Mrs Jennings, and that their baby was stillborn.’

‘She’s not convinced,’ DS Scrivener said. ‘She’s phoned twice this morning. She says she has new evidence, but it’s too delicate to explain over the phone. She wants to speak to someone “involved in the case”, to use her words. So that’s you, Beth.’

‘But there is no case, sir,’ Beth said. Matt glanced at her, puzzled. ‘The baby was born dead. That’s all there is to it. I told Mrs Slater that.’

‘Tell her again, please. Then come back here.’

‘Very good, sir,’ Beth said, and Matt ended the call.

‘What was all that about?’ he asked as Beth indicated right to make the detour.

‘Mrs Slater reported that her neighbours, Ian and Emma Jennings, had a baby but it disappeared. I interviewed the couple and filed my report. They had a home birth but sadly the baby was born dead. I can’t imagine what “new evidence” there could be.’

‘Perhaps she’s claiming they murdered it,’ Matt suggested.