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Chapters (82)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise for The House of Whispers
  3. Title Page
  4. Note to Readers
  5. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  6. One
  7. Two
  8. Three
  9. Four
  10. Five
  11. Six
  12. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  13. Seven
  14. Eight
  15. Nine
  16. Ten
  17. Eleven
  18. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  19. Twelve
  20. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  21. Thirteen
  22. Fourteen
  23. Fifteen
  24. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  25. Sixteen
  26. Seventeen
  27. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  28. Eighteen
  29. Nineteen
  30. Twenty
  31. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  32. Twenty-One
  33. Twenty-Two
  34. Twenty-Three
  35. Twenty-Four
  36. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  37. Twenty-Five
  38. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  39. Twenty-Six
  40. Twenty-Seven
  41. Twenty-Eight
  42. Twenty-Nine
  43. Thirty
  44. Thirty-One
  45. Thirty-Two
  46. Thirty-Three
  47. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  48. Thirty-Four
  49. Thirty-Five
  50. Thirty-Six
  51. Thirty-Seven
  52. Thirty-Eight
  53. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  54. Thirty-Nine
  55. Forty
  56. Forty-One
  57. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  58. Forty-Two
  59. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  60. Forty-Three
  61. Forty-Four
  62. Forty-Five
  63. Forty-Six
  64. Forty-Seven
  65. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  66. Forty-Eight
  67. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  68. Forty-Nine
  69. Fifty
  70. Fifty-One
  71. Fifty-Two
  72. Fifty-Three
  73. Fifty-Four
  74. Fifty-Five
  75. Fifty-Six
  76. Fifty-Seven
  77. Fifty-Eight
  78. Fifty-Nine
  79. Sixty
  80. Priory Hospital North London: 20 December 2019
  81. Acknowledgements
  82. About the Publisher

I’d only just got back to sleep after the dream that night – or so it seemed – when Rohan woke me with a hand placed gently on my arm.

‘Don’t move,’ he breathed into my ear. ‘Someone’s here.’

I froze, every fibre of my body straining to listen. Could I hear breathing? Feel the vibration of a soul? Mentally, I went through the doors and windows I’d locked last night. All of them. Not one left open downstairs – I knew it – not even a slit to let in the breeze. Could someone have climbed up the side of the house and let themselves in through an upstairs window?

‘In here,’ Rohan whispered. ‘I saw them. I’m going to check.’

In one swift movement, he leaped up from the bed. ‘Who’s there?’ he yelled, flicking on his torch and flashing it into the corners of the room. The furniture loomed under the spotlight, discarded clothes making shadows on the walls and floor.

‘Mind your eyes,’ Rohan said, and snapped on the bedside lamp. He got up, pulled on a pair of shorts and walked out onto the landing then downstairs, clicking on lights as he went. I tracked his movements down and then back up.

‘Did you find anything?’ My skin was clammy. ‘A break-in?’

‘Nope. Nothing.’ He slid back into bed and ran his hands through his hair.

‘Nothing at all? Maybe it was Alfie. He’s heavy enough these days to make the floorboards creak.’

‘No.’ He flopped back onto the pillows. ‘It was more than that. A person. I’m sure of it. I saw her – them – whoever – by the window.’

I curled my body around Rohan’s to chase away my goosebumps. ‘Are you sure? Are you sure it wasn’t a dream? You know you sometimes get those dreams where you wake up and it seems so real but you’re still dreaming?’

Rohan inhaled deeply and let the breath out again. ‘I was dreaming… God, I can’t remember. There was a… uh! You know I can feel it but I can’t quite get it. There was a – I was – shit. It’s not coming. But maybe. There’s something. Maybe. Maybe it was a dream.’

‘You did have a few beers tonight.’

Rohan sighed. ‘Yeah, maybe.’

We fell asleep with our arms wrapped around each other, his breath hot on my hair.