Cover

Dedication

For Lynn and Pete. Who started the story.

Prologue

This had always been her happy place. The sort of place every fifteen-year-old has. A place to be free, to be among friends. To be safe.

But today was different. Today it was just her, a handful of pills and a bottle of water to wash them down.

The sound of children playing grabbed her attention. In the distance she could see two toddlers in matching blue, giggling on a colourful merry-go-round. Right next to them a young girl occupied the swing, her red hair trailing behind her. She shrieked for her dad to push her higher, wearing a smile like nothing else in the world mattered.

It wasn’t so long ago that had been her: carefree, happy. Innocent. A child whose only knowledge of evil came from storybooks, from stern warnings from her parents, from Halloween. Evil wore a witch’s hat; it was a stranger who would try to lead her away in a crowd or the bogeyman in a mask with fake blood round the mouth. It was obvious, you knew to scream or to run.

But now she knew the truth.

Evil isn’t shrouded in black, beckoning from the darkness under the bed. It doesn’t make itself known. Evil is slow, quiet and patient. It is the shadow consuming a smoker’s lung, it is the person who pretends to be your friend so they can silence you for ever.

Now she knew evil. And because of her, all those other girls would know it too.

She threw the tablets to the back of her throat, the water to wash them down part of the same movement. Her focus was lost as her eyes blurred with tears. Soon, for her at least, this would all be over. But evil doesn’t stop, the shadow will still spread in silence.

He was never going to stop with her.

Chapter 1

One month later. A hotel just outside Dover.

Tuesday

A Tuesday night, sitting on the same barstool as so many nights before: Danny Evans could have no way of knowing his life was about to take another dramatic turn. The pub was called The Duke Inn, the name a nod to the military school that almost shared an entrance but none of the grandeur. Though a separate building, the pub also served a hotel where Danny had a booked room that was just a short stumble away. Danny was pretty certain he was not the demographic of choice. In truth, the pub was more a restaurant aimed at families, and he might well have recognised himself as the eyesore at the bar if he had taken a moment to consider his surroundings.

But now it was late. The families were gone. Only the drinkers were left. Another pint dropped in front of Danny, a shot glass followed, and his place among the drinkers was affirmed.