Contents (71)
- THE
- DAUGHTER
- MICHELLE FRANCES
- PROLOGUE
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- EPILOGUE
- AUTHOR’S NOTE
- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
She double-checked again – yes – he had his thumb up, then waved his hand to signal ‘you go, you go’. She stood on her pedal.
She cycled alongside him and was just midway past his vehicle when she sensed it move. Alarmed, she looked up. Jesus, he was driving. She was almost at the corner now and saw there were railings along the edge of the pavement. She was sandwiched between the truck and the railings. With a panicked burst she tried to cycle around the corner to safety but then the truck clipped her wheel and with a cry she fell from her bike and the huge, thundering metal machine was over her, the wheels bearing down on her, and then she felt unbelievable, excruciating pain. Confusion, agony. She tried to move, couldn’t move. Somehow, deep in her mind, she knew why. The wheels were on top of her.
A woman rushed over, and Becky registered the horror on her face. Somehow that frightened her more, seeing her reaction.
‘Oh my God, oh my God,’ the woman kept on crying out, a twisted umbrella in her hand, which she suddenly dropped. ‘An ambulance is on its way,’ she said, visibly trying to pull it together.
Time slipped. Becky felt the woman take her hand. She heard someone else shout, ‘Move! Move it forward!’ and there were blue lights reflected in the windows of the buildings she could just see from under the truck. She suddenly realized what the lights were, and she saw legs in uniforms, a policeman bend down and say, ‘We’re going to get you out, love.’ A thought streaked through her mind: I’m going to be late for Mum. Then the woman who’d taken her hand let go and she heard the engine rev and then everything went dark.
SIXTY-TWO
2018
Kate burst out of the communal front door and ran down the path onto the pavement, leaving the metal gate banging behind her. She looked anxiously up and down the street, then realized if anyone was watching, she was drawing attention to herself.
She headed back towards the Tube station, her pace quick but controlled. She forced herself not to keep checking over her shoulder until she needed to cross the road, which would give her an opportunity to stop and glance behind. It was peak commuter time in a busy part of south London, known for its upwardly mobile professionals. There were a lot of people about. Most of them seemed as intent on going about their business as she was. She checked for anyone who had stopped, was perhaps waiting for her to move on. There was a man in a brown jacket with his back to her, looking in an estate agent’s window about ten metres away. Tall, broad. Could he be the man with the moustache? She watched for a moment, then he took a call on his mobile, and turned around. Not him.
The pedestrian lights changed, and Kate moved with the hordes towards the green man on the other side of the road, and then down the steps into the underground. The platform was busy, but she managed to get on a train and stood between the seats hanging onto a yellow side rail. The train doors closed, and it picked up speed. She wondered what had happened to Adam, where he’d gone. She prayed he was safe somewhere, that someone was looking out for him. With a pang, she wondered about his mother, what she knew. When she’d see him again.