BooksBarbecue
Back The Game
Chapters (68)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. NOW
  4. One
  5. BEFORE
  6. Two
  7. Three
  8. Four
  9. Five
  10. Six
  11. Seven
  12. Eight
  13. Nine
  14. Ten
  15. Eleven
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Sixteen
  21. Seventeen
  22. Eighteen
  23. Nineteen
  24. Twenty
  25. NOW
  26. Twenty-One
  27. BEFORE
  28. Twenty-Two
  29. Twenty-Three
  30. Twenty-Four
  31. Twenty-Five
  32. Twenty-Six
  33. Twenty-Seven
  34. Twenty-Eight
  35. Twenty-Nine
  36. Thirty
  37. Thirty-One
  38. Thirty-Two
  39. Thirty-three
  40. Thirty-Four
  41. Thirty-Five
  42. Thirty-Six
  43. Thirty-Seven
  44. Thirty-Eight
  45. NOW
  46. Thirty-Nine
  47. BEFORE
  48. Forty
  49. Forty-One
  50. Forty-Two
  51. Forty-three
  52. Forty-Four
  53. Forty-Five
  54. Forty-Six
  55. Forty-Seven
  56. Forty-Eight
  57. Forty-Nine
  58. Fifty
  59. Fifty-One
  60. NOW
  61. Fifty-Two
  62. Fifty-Three
  63. Fifty-Four
  64. Fifty-Five
  65. AFTER
  66. Fifty-Six
  67. Acknowledgements
  68. About the Author

‘I know it’s a difficult one, Mark, but we have to go with what we know so far. Once that’s over, we can move the investigation further afield. For now, our resources are best spent on the more likely answers, but I can give you some time to make sure what you’ve found out has nothing to do with it.’

Mark nodded, but didn’t feel confident in the choices being made. There was something about the whole thing that didn’t feel right. The way Rich had acted over Emily’s disappearance, the fact he’d been there for days, supporting his sister. The fact he had no history of anything untoward with the family.

The fact of the note.

Another mention of some kind of game.

‘One more thing, Mark,’ DI Bennett said, as she turned to leave. ‘If you feel this is all a bit much for you, please say something. I don’t want you burning yourself out. It’s a difficult case, this, but you need to show you can deal with this sort of thing, okay? I think you’ve been a good addition to the team, but you’ve been with us long enough now. I don’t want you getting bogged down in something that doesn’t fit, so don’t take too long on this.’

Mark didn’t respond, letting her walk away without another word. He could feel the anger like a ball of fire in his stomach. He wasn’t a child. He didn’t need to be spoken to like one.

He breathed in and forced himself to relax.

Thirty-Five

The house felt different with Julie and Stephanie gone. As if a part of it was missing. All that was left behind was an eerie, still silence. Mark had arrived with two uniforms, directing them to the back of the house to where he expected the uncle to be.

Charlie had opened the front door for them, rolled his eyes and not said a word. Mark had tried to stop him, but he was already back up the stairs, his bedroom door closing behind him. He waited for the uniforms to make their way through the house, then walked up the stairs to the only bedroom he hadn’t seen yet.

He was standing on the landing, knocking on the door for at least a minute before Charlie opened it. The teen stood at the threshold, his hair hanging dankly, almost covering his eyes.

‘Can I talk to you?’

Charlie slouched against the doorframe, crossed his arms and said, ‘What?’

‘You might want to sit down,’ Mark said, keeping his patience in check.

‘It’s about her, isn’t it?’

‘Can you just let me in so we can talk it over.’