BooksBarbecue
Back The Hollows
Chapters (77)
  1. Front Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Dedication
  5. PART I
  6. 1.
  7. 2.
  8. 3.
  9. 4.
  10. 5.
  11. 6.
  12. 7.
  13. 8.
  14. PART II
  15. 9.
  16. 10.
  17. 11.
  18. 12.
  19. 13.
  20. 14.
  21. 15.
  22. 16.
  23. 17.
  24. 18.
  25. 19.
  26. 20.
  27. 21.
  28. 22.
  29. 23.
  30. 24.
  31. 25.
  32. 26.
  33. 27.
  34. 28.
  35. 29.
  36. 30.
  37. 31.
  38. 32.
  39. 33.
  40. 34.
  41. 35.
  42. 36.
  43. PART III
  44. 37.
  45. 38.
  46. 39.
  47. 40.
  48. 41.
  49. 42.
  50. 43.
  51. 44.
  52. 45.
  53. 46.
  54. 47.
  55. 48.
  56. 49.
  57. 50.
  58. 51.
  59. 52.
  60. 53.
  61. 54.
  62. 55.
  63. 56.
  64. 57.
  65. 58.
  66. 59.
  67. 60.
  68. 61.
  69. 62.
  70. 63.
  71. 64.
  72. 65.
  73. PART IV
  74. 66.
  75. 67.
  76. 68.
  77. Acknowledgements

Jess blinked, bit her lip and nodded. Out of all her family, she was closest to Tony. This would be hard for her. Tony aside, Jess was the only Harper Ellie had any time for, being the closest thing to an innocent possible for anyone who’d grown up at Barrowman Farm. She took off the chain and reopened the door, kicking aside a draught excluder made from the leg of a pair of tights stuffed with newspaper and cotton waste, then stumbled down the dim hallway.

It took all Ellie’s composure not to recoil from the stench as she followed Jess. The house was warm – a thick damp heat – and stank of sweat, rotten food, mildew, unflushed toilets, wet dogs and their acrid piss. Which reminded her of the barking she’d heard.

Jess rocked the child, but it kept screaming. It wore an old, dirty romper suit and gave off a horrible smell; its little face was red and scrunched-up. Jess whimpered, almost crying with frustration. The child looked too big for her; she was tiny, barely five feet tall, small-boned and very thin, with a hunched shoulder due to scoliosis. Practically a child herself, in every sense. Ellie edged forward, holding out her arms. “You’re rocking him too fast, love. Want me to show you?”

Jess shrank back, clutching the baby to her. The outside world would steal her child if she gave it any excuse: her mother had told her. “I won’t hurt him,” Ellie promised, “and I’m not gonna take him away. Just want to show you how to rock him.”

Jess was, in her own way, as unpredictable as Tony. She could be kind-hearted and gentle, but she was also a Harper, with all that went with that – most notably, distrust and hostility to anyone outside the clan. She’d been brutalised in other ways, too. A six-month-old baby, and she wasn’t seventeen yet. Father unknown – according to the birth certificate, anyway – but the social worker who’d dealt with Jess had voiced suspicions about her brother Paul. Paul Harper had raped three women, assaulted four more, and those were the ones Ellie knew about.

With the Harpers, though, there was always a gap between what you knew and what you could prove, not least because anyone who pissed them off brought the whole clan down on them. Paul had only done time for one of his many assaults, and Jess herself had always denied he was the child’s father, not that anyone expected her to do otherwise.