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Back The Midnight Man Save as PDF
Chapters (70)
  1. Title Page
  2. Contents
  3. Copyright
  4. Praise for Caroline Mitchell
  5. Also by Caroline Mitchell
  6. Dedication
  7. Epigraph
  8. Prologue
  9. 1
  10. 2
  11. 3
  12. 4
  13. 5
  14. 6
  15. 7
  16. 8
  17. 9
  18. 10
  19. 11
  20. 12
  21. 13
  22. 14
  23. 15
  24. 16
  25. 17
  26. 18
  27. 19
  28. 20
  29. 21
  30. 22
  31. 23
  32. 24
  33. 25
  34. 26
  35. 27
  36. 28
  37. 29
  38. 30
  39. 31
  40. 32
  41. 33
  42. 34
  43. 35
  44. 36
  45. 37
  46. 38
  47. 39
  48. 40
  49. 41
  50. 42
  51. 43
  52. 44
  53. 45
  54. 46
  55. 47
  56. 48
  57. 49
  58. 50
  59. 51
  60. 52
  61. 53
  62. 54
  63. 55
  64. 56
  65. 57
  66. 58
  67. Epilogue
  68. Acknowledgements
  69. About Caroline Mitchell
  70. About Embla Books

Tense with trepidation, Sarah approached the door. She imagined Angelica and the other girls pricking their fingers on a piece of card next to their names. She wasn’t playing the game. She was here for two reasons. Reasons worth risking her life for. To find her tormentor and to bring Jahmelia home. But there was no power in the building, so she would use a candle and give the illusion she was playing the game. Her actions were robotic as she lit the fat white candle, because her thoughts were firmly on the house. She was in there, somewhere. Her fourteen-year-old self. She was still up in that wardrobe. Only the wardrobe wasn’t there anymore. She wandered into the house, and had a sense of things scurrying around her feet. The smell of rotting upholstery assailed her nostrils and for a fleeting second she thought what a shame it was to see the place fall apart like this. Above her, bats skittered in the rafters, and her candle flickered as a door upstairs slammed shut. Sarah stood, entranced, as the ghosts of the past returned.

She was a child again, returning from trick-or-treating with her gran. Her uncle’s car was on the drive. His mediation had failed. Robin, in his Batman costume, on a sugar high as he clutched his Halloween spoils. The scent of lavender as Sarah gave her mother a hug. Her father’s weary, smiling face as he said goodnight. Her eyes rested on a salt ring, disturbed by the boot prints of the police officers before it was released as a scene of crime. To her left, was a splintered hole in the wall where Libby had escaped. What had possessed Angelica and her friends to come to this awful place?

On Sarah walked, to the wide staircase, tentatively moving up each step. It creaked, as if in acknowledgement. Her hand hovered over the banister. She did not want to physically touch anything. Slowly, she climbed, wary of the rotting steps. A feeling of coming home descended as instinct guided her up the stairs.

51

Saturday, 9th November 2019

I watched from the secret crawlspace, a deep sense of satisfaction washing over me. Everything was coming together. It surprised me, what I was capable of. Finding the right crawlspace had been instinctual. Blackhall revealed itself to the special few. It was why Libby couldn’t open the panel which would have granted her an easy freedom. It was a privilege to be part of something bigger than myself.