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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

‘Alright!’ Sarah forced herself to open the wardrobe door. Like the rest of the furniture in Blackhall, it was riddled with woodworm – eaten as it stood. Wire hangers jingled and memories of the past wrapped themselves around her … How her father’s old coats had brushed against her, and her mother’s dresses carried the faint scent of her perfume. She tried to focus her thoughts as they wavered between past and present. Lewis let Libby go, and seemed to have released Jahmelia. He might do the same for Elliott, his own son. He had kept his word in the past, and it was her death he cared about. Right now, it was the only hope she had.

Climbing into the wardrobe, she listened as the lock in the door clicked shut. Dust rose from the base and she pinched her nose as she ingested a sneeze. At the back of her mind, her body’s sense of self-preservation screamed. Why was she complying with Lewis’s demands? Why had she come here unarmed? A sense of resignation washed over her. Perhaps this was what her life had been leading to all along. She wasn’t a religious person, but as she sat in the wardrobe, she felt the presence of her family nearby. It was why she’d stockpiled the pills in her bedside table. After David’s death, life had got too hard. How easy it would be to just close her eyes and succumb to it all. The cramped space was dark, apart from the tiniest chink of candlelight through the keyhole. This time, she didn’t look out. Sitting in the darkness, Sarah pulled her knees close to her chest. She blinked, adjusting her vision as she took in movement around her. In the darkness, white moths fluttered, gently touching her hands, her legs, her face. How was she seeing their downy wings? They appeared out of nowhere, like messengers of light, the soft beat of their wings invoking a sense of peace. She wasn’t afraid. Her family weren’t gone. They were waiting for her. Whether it was now, or in decades to come, she would see them again.

Curling into a ball, Sarah pushed her hands over her ears as the booming thunder of a gunshot filled the air.

54

‘I’m coming!’ Maggie called, drunk from sleep. She stumbled out of bed, shoving her arms into her dressing gown. Silence. Had she dreamt her son’s cries? ‘Elliott?’ she whispered, creeping down the corridor. She paused at her son’s bedroom door. The clothes were pulled back from his bed. It was empty. She glanced out his window. All she could see was thick white fog. Twelve minutes past midnight. Where was he?