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
What was really strange, thought Jude, was that her parents still had no idea of the mess she had got herself into. In London it had felt like everyone knew, everyone had read the online story or the subsequent reports in newspapers, had seen the endlessly retweeted picture of her and Liam as teenagers, had discussed it, drawn conclusions, made judgments. And yet, here in their village in Shropshire and outside of that bubble, her parents seemed blissfully untouched by the whole thing.
“All the time she was talking to me,” continued her mother, “I felt I wanted to ask, why are you ringing me? Why are you telling me this? Of course I couldn’t. Suddenly she said she was calling because they wanted to contact you. I didn’t know what to say. You hardly knew him, did you? I didn’t even know you’d stayed in touch.”
“We hadn’t,” said Jude. “Not really.”
“She said that they—she and Liam’s father—wanted to talk to you. I said I’d give them your number but they said if it was at all possible, they wanted to talk to you in person.” She waited for an answer that didn’t come. “Do you know what it could be about?”
Jude felt she did know what it could be about. The police would have told them how Liam had been in touch with her just before his death. They would know about the night she had spent in Norfolk with his car and his phone, and of course they would have read the stories and comments. They must be curious, or more than curious: hungry for information and knowledge about their murdered son. It wasn’t a conversation Jude wanted to have but she owed it to them. If they needed to see her in person, she owed that to them as well.
“I suppose they want to talk about Liam,” she said.
“Couldn’t they do that over the phone? I mean, getting you to come up all the way from London to do it. It’s very good of you, but still.”
“Could I borrow your car?” Jude said. “If I can’t, it’s not a problem. I can get a taxi.”
“Don’t be silly. Of course you can borrow it.”
“I won’t be very long.”
“It doesn’t matter. Take as long as you need. Are you staying the night?”
“If that’s all right. Maybe a few nights?”
“Are you taking time off work?”
Jude took a deep breath. She couldn’t put it off any-more.
“There’s something I haven’t told you.”
It was a relief to get in the car and drive away and be alone for a time.