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
The sight was so unexpected that it took Jude a moment to make sense of it. The road was full, a riot of orange and white and flashing lights. She made out two ambulances and at least three police cars. They were parked at angles in the middle of the road as if they had been abandoned in a hurry. As she got closer, she saw that the whole road had been closed off with a “no entry” sign. Two police officers in yellow high-visibility jackets were standing by the sign.
“Can I get through?” Jude asked.
A female officer shook her head. “The road’s closed off.”
“What’s happened?”
“There’s been an incident.”
“What kind of incident? Is it in number three? Has anyone been hurt?”
The officer shrugged. “We can’t talk about that.”
“Is it number three? If it is, I know the people who live there. I need to know what happened.”
“You’ll just have to wait.”
Jude edged along the plastic barrier that had been set up, so that she could get a better view. Yes, it was definitely the house. She could see that the front door was open and there were uniformed officers clustered in groups. It looked like the aftermath of something. She became aware of the other officer standing in front of her.
But then she noticed something. Or rather, the absence of something. There were no paramedics. There were groups of police talking but no sign of anyone in green overalls, nobody sitting in the ambulance. That was a sign that something serious was going on, something that needed everyone inside.
“This isn’t a show,” the officer said.
“I’m allowed to stand here.”
Both of them had to stand to one side as a police van drove up. The two officers moved the barrier to allow the van to pass. Then they quickly pulled it back into place. The male officer looked at Jude and shook his head.
“Nobody’s going in,” he said.
“I know those people,” she said desperately. “I need to find out what’s going on.”
“You’ll hear when everyone else hears.”
Jude thought she would explode with frustration. She didn’t know what to do. She took out her phone and called Leila Fox.
“I’m at the house,” she said.
“What house?”
“Danny’s. Vin’s.”
“I told you not to do anything—”
“Something’s happened,” Jude interrupted. “There’s ambulances and police in the road. They won’t let me anywhere near. Have you heard anything?”
There was a pause.
“I’ll be right over.”