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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

Grace pulled out a blonde doll in a pink nylon dress and peered back into the box. She looked around the room and smiled. ‘Just think, she probably used to live right here.’ She held up the doll as if showing it the room, then spoke in a baby voice. ‘Hello, do you remember this room? Did you used to live here? Is it nice to be back?’

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. ‘You’re nuts,’ I said, backing out of the room, ‘and I’m going to bed.’

‘Okay! Sleep well!’ Grace didn’t even look up from the box.

‘’Night.’

I closed my bedroom door behind me, slid back into bed and got the iPad out again. I closed my eyes for a moment before finding my place, back on the emotional bullying page.

The behaviour is hidden, often wrapped in a package seen as somewhat harmless or just a ‘girl thing’… attempts to defend oneself leads to an escalation of the aggression.

I shivered and pulled the duvet tighter around me. The air in my room was freezing.

Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019

‘How did Abigail seem to you, when she spoke about Grace? Was it in a positive way?’

‘Yes. She said they were best friends at uni. That they lived together on campus and off campus for five years… I got the feeling that Grace used to “look after” Abi, much like how I do these days. As I said, when she’s painting, she’s almost in another “realm”. She’s not entirely there, so to speak. She needs someone with her.’

‘And she seemed happy when she told you that Grace was coming to stay?’

‘Yes, I think so. It didn’t occur to me that she might not be happy about it. Why would it? I mean, you wouldn’t invite someone to stay with you if you weren’t happy about it, would you? You’d just say, “Sorry, we don’t have the space.” Anyway, the timing worked out really well with me having to go away. We were both relieved, I think. It was the perfect solution.’

‘Did she give any intimation as to how things were between them when Grace left for… umm… [shuffles papers]… Australia?’

‘No. No, she didn’t. I assumed they were friends.’

Twenty-Five

I set my alarm for seven thirty, thinking I might catch Grace before she went into town to do any necessary admin before starting work the next day: setting up a bank account, changing money. As I made my way downstairs, I paused outside her room and listened, but all I could hear was the house itself, its walls almost ticking off the time as the seconds went by; its rooms yawning caverns of emptiness. Downstairs there was a scrabble of claws and Alfie miaowed, his tail swishing as he looked up the stairs at me.