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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

‘I’ll be in touch as soon as we have any news,’ he reassured Grant and Chelsea. They too got ready to leave.

Outside, Matt and Beth saw the young couple off the hospital premises and continued to their car. It was only then that Beth asked Matt, ‘Did you recognize the name of the midwife?’

‘Yes,’ Matt said. ‘It’s the same one who delivered Mr and Mrs Jennings’s baby. Two stillbirths in a month – is that normal?’

‘Sadly, yes. I looked it up while I was investigating Mrs Slater’s complaint. One in every 223 births is stillborn, that’s 3,400 a year, so nine a day. And that’s just those that have to be registered because of the number of weeks’ gestation. The true figure is likely to be much higher. So in that respect Anne isn’t to blame.’

EIGHTEEN

Jan was ready by 6.30 p.m. and waiting in the living room for Chris to arrive. She’d fed Tinder, showered, washed her hair and spent some time trying to decide what to wear. It was the first time since she’d come to live in Ivy Cottage that she’d needed to change out of jeans and a jumper. She was now wearing a dress; one of three she’d packed in case she needed to look smart.

DC Matt Davis had been very helpful and thorough when he’d visited that afternoon. Not only had he checked the back garden, but he’d gone into the woods surrounding the cottage and down the lane where she’d seen the shadowy figure running from the front door and between the trees. He hadn’t found any signs of anyone living in the woods and suggested it might have been an animal she’d seen. She hadn’t told him otherwise. She would wait until she had some firm evidence. He’d suggested again that she went for a walk in Coleshaw Woods at the back of the cottage and she was considering it. Here she was, living in a renowned beauty spot and she’d hardly explored it at all.

At 7 p.m. Jan heard Chris’s car pull up outside. Tinder heard it too and pricked up his ears. ‘See you later,’ she said, standing, and ruffled his fur.

She shut him in the living room so he couldn’t get upstairs and then went into the hall where she put on her coat. Leaving the hall light on so she could see when she returned, Jan opened the front door. Chris was turning his car around as Wood Lane was a dead end. The only light came from his car’s headlamps. She waited until he’d completed the turn and then went round to the passenger side.

‘Hi,’ she said brightly, getting in. Immediately she sensed an atmosphere.