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Back The Family Next Door Save as PDF
Chapters (117)
  1. Also by
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Epigraph
  5. PROLOGUE
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
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  115. 110
  116. Teaser chapter
  117. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Aster was next to say her good-byes. Mother and daughter had developed a new closeness in recent weeks. Aster had plaited her mother’s hair and painted her nails. Now she kissed her cheek. “Can’t wait until you’re well enough for us to go shopping again.” They both laughed.

And, lastly, Evan. Her precious boy.

“Can’t I stay with you, Mum?” His eyes filled with tears. “I’ll help look after you.”

“I know that, sweetheart. But Granny wants to see you, and Daddy wants to show you your new bedroom. You’ll have fun and you’ll be back before you know it.”

Olivia did not know if Evan understood the extent of their neighbor’s killing spree, or how close to danger he’d been. She had not pressed him, and he had not volunteered much. But he had wet the bed a couple of times since he had dragged home the crate containing that young boy’s remains. And every day she thanked a God she didn’t believe in for sparing her son from Cooper Clifton.

The hallway filled with suitcases and shouted good-byes. With silence.

Olivia watched the first sycamore seeds of the season spin in the wind, like tiny helicopters. She had not heard from Orson since the night of her accident and she had not contacted him. But her brush with death had opened her eyes. She loved her family, and she would fight for them. A part of her was uncertain, frightened by the future. But she felt lighter than she had done in a long time.

Half an hour later, the doorbell rang.

She grinned. She knew who it was.

“It’s open,” she called.

Audrina Clifton bustled into the sitting room. Olivia had put on some music and the swell of the notes filled the room. The women had become closer over the last few weeks, bound together by their shared sense of loss. Olivia’s affair was over and Audrina’s husband was dead. Both widows, in their own ways.

Audrina hung her coat on the back of the chair and made sure that Olivia was comfortable.

“How about a nice cup of tea?” the older woman said.

When the neighbor returned to the sitting room, she was carrying a tray. Two teacups. A teapot. Milk jug and sugar bowl.

And a plate filled with thick slices of Dundee cake, bulging with raisins.

107

107

M25 motorway, 2:37 P.M.

In the car, Garrick and Aster Lockwood were singing along to the radio.

His father had not been this happy in months and it gave Evan a warm feeling inside.

He dug around inside his backpack until he found what he was looking for. He’d promised his cousin he would bring it with him for her to play with, but the truth was, he’d come to rely on its predictions.