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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

‘We know we’re not the only couple around here to have had a pregnancy go wrong. Everyone says it’s the discharge from the power station contaminating the water that causes the birth defects. That’s what you should be researching, not us.’

‘I will once I’ve ruled out our DNA,’ Ian agreed. ‘I’m sorry for shouting. Shall we have a hug and make up?’

‘Yes, come on. I love you. We’ve got each other and that’s all that matters.’

Ian put his arms around his wife and held her close. ‘Yes, you’re right.’

SEVENTEEN

DC Beth Mayes looked up from her computer screen as Matt returned to his desk. ‘You’ve been gone ages,’ she said. ‘The boss was looking for you earlier.’

‘I’ve seen him. I’ve been to Ivy Cottage – you know, in Wood Lane in Coleshaw Woods,’ Matt replied. Beth nodded. ‘I took a call earlier from Ms Jan Hamlin, the young lady who’s renting it. She reported intruders in her garden and seeing someone in the woods.’

‘Young lady,’ Beth said, with a sardonic smile. ‘So that’s why you were gone so long – rescuing damsels in distress.’ Beth knew Matt well enough to be confident that their repartee wouldn’t cause offence. ‘Find anything?’ she asked.

‘Not really. There’s definitely something getting into her garden, but I don’t think it’s kids like she does. There were no shoe or trainer prints. She said she’d seen someone outside the cottage and running between the trees in the lane, so I had a look there, and also went into the woods at the back. There was no sign of anyone living there. I wondered if it was Bill Smith wandering again. His dementia is advanced now and he’s got lost a few times. But she was adamant the figure she saw was smaller. She’s blocked up a hole in the back hedge so hopefully that will put an end to it.’

‘Why is she living there alone?’ Beth asked. ‘That cottage is very remote.’

‘She said she needed to get away to do some thinking.’

‘OK. I can identify with that.’

‘She was asking about Coleshaw Woods. She’d been reading articles online and found some about a body in the quarry, and a baby that had been heard crying. I reassured her that both cases had been closed.’