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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

She pulled open the second drawer, her gaze falling on the glorious stash of tablets within. Enough to send a horse to meet his maker. Each small white tablet a promise she could hold in her hand. A promise that could make everything go away. Because if she couldn’t make things work on the outside world, there was no point in going on.

2

Libby kicked a stone as she walked down the old dirt track. If their parents could see them now; a group of Catholic schoolgirls sneaking out to the most out of bounds building in Upper Slayton. The invite had been exclusive. Only a few people from her school were ‘chosen’ to attend as they broke up for half-term. She turned over the stiff black card which had been placed in a small envelope and shoved inside her schoolbag. It read:

You are cordially invited to play

The Midnight Game

Blackhall Manor

31st October 2019

00.00

On the back of the card in a tiny font were the words ‘If you tell, you’ll go to hell’. Nobody had admitted to it yet, but they all guessed that Angelica was responsible. She was the most theatrical in the group, and this year she had upped her game. It certainly wasn’t twins Bethany and Isobel, who lacked the imagination and flair. Then there was Jahmelia, the youngest among them. She was even more frightened than Libby. The waxing crescent moon was a thumbnail in the sky as they crept down the jagged path.

‘So, which of you losers hasn’t had their first kiss yet?’ Angelica said, Tesco bag in one hand, cigarette in the other. Angelica was the first person in their group to smoke. She was also the first to French kiss. At fifteen, she was a year older than the others, because she’d had to repeat a school year. She had lots of older friends, which made it all the more surprising that she was spending Halloween with Libby and the gang.

‘It’s Jahmelia for sure,’ Bethany said, matching Angelica’s mocking tones. Libby rolled her eyes. Bethany was the biggest suck-up in the group. Her parents were what Libby’s would call ‘social climbers’, and they brown-nosed Angelica’s mum and dad every chance they got. But Angelica’s parents were bigots according to Libby’s parents.

Libby was meant to be sleeping in a tent down at the bottom of Jahmelia’s garden tonight. That was as scary as things were meant to get.

‘I like kissing my baby brother,’ Jahmelia said in a quiet voice, small plumes of white breath filling the freezing air around her. ‘He has soft cheeks, and he smells nice.’

Jahmelia was the youngest in the group, at barely thirteen years of age. Her intelligence had propelled her forward in class, but she had little in the way of street smarts.