Chapters (78)
- Title Page
- Dedication
- 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
- Sixty-Five
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Sixty-Nine
- Seventy
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Remarkable Praise for Nicci French
- Also by Nicci French
- About the Publisher
“That’s a stupid question,” said a man beside Jude. “If you can’t hear him, you can’t hear the question.”
“I’m not going to make a speech,” Vin continued. “We’ve had the sad bit. We’ve mourned him. We’ve all shed tears. But that’s not what Liam would have wanted. He would have wanted us to have a bloody good party. To drink a bit, or whatever, and then have a good dance and remember the good times we shared. So here’s to Liam and the good times.”
There was another murmur and a clinking of glasses.
It was an opportunity to leave. Jude pushed through people she didn’t recognize on her way to the door. Just before she reached it, she heard her name being called and looked around. It was Vin. She mumbled something about needing to get away.
“I understand that,” he said. “But could we talk before you go?” He watched her, saw her hesitating, and gave a slight smile. “It’ll only take a minute. Come on, I’ll show you something. I’m going to bring up some more wine.”
He took her by the arm and led her along the hall. With his other hand, he grabbed two clean wine glasses from a table. He pushed open a small wooden door under the stairs, flicked on a light switch and gestured to Jude to walk through. Inside the door were wooden steps leading down. There was a bare brick wall and she immediately noticed a musty, damp smell. He followed her, pushing the door shut behind him. The roar of the party became a murmur.
At the bottom of the steps, Jude looked around. The light was dim and patchy; the corners lay in pools of shadow. They were in a cellar that ran under the front half of the house. The floor was brick. She looked up and saw beams and planks. She could hear the creak of people moving above.
The room was piled with junk: fold-up chairs, a rusty barbecue, an unconnected washing machine, packing cases, tools and other objects that Jude couldn’t even identify. Vin was pulling open the top of a cardboard box. He extracted a bottle of red wine.
“I need to bring some more up to the party,” he said. “I thought we could try some first.” He unscrewed the top and poured red wine into both glasses. He handed one to Jude. He clinked his glass against hers and took a sip.