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Back The Return Save as PDF
Chapters (73)
  1. Cover
  2. About the Author
  3. Also by Anita Frank
  4. Note to Readers
  5. Dedication
  6. Part One
  7. Chapter One
  8. Chapter Two
  9. Chapter Three
  10. Chapter Four
  11. Chapter Five
  12. Chapter Six
  13. Chapter Seven
  14. Chapter Eight
  15. Chapter Nine
  16. Chapter Ten
  17. Chapter Eleven
  18. Chapter Twelve
  19. Chapter Thirteen
  20. Chapter Fourteen
  21. Chapter Fifteen
  22. Chapter Sixteen
  23. Chapter Seventeen
  24. Chapter Eighteen
  25. Chapter Nineteen
  26. Chapter Twenty
  27. Chapter Twenty-One
  28. Chapter Twenty-Two
  29. Chapter Twenty-Three
  30. Chapter Twenty-Four
  31. Chapter Twenty-Five
  32. Chapter Twenty-Six
  33. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  34. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  35. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  36. Chapter Thirty
  37. Chapter Thirty-One
  38. Chapter Thirty-Two
  39. Chapter Thirty-Three
  40. Chapter Thirty-Four
  41. Chapter Thirty-Five
  42. Chapter Thirty-Six
  43. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  44. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  45. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  46. Chapter Forty
  47. Part Two
  48. Chapter Forty-One
  49. Chapter Forty-Two
  50. Chapter Forty-Three
  51. Chapter Forty-Four
  52. Chapter Forty-Five
  53. Chapter Forty-Six
  54. Chapter Forty-Seven
  55. Chapter Forty-Eight
  56. Chapter Forty-Nine
  57. Chapter Fifty
  58. Chapter Fifty-One
  59. Chapter Fifty-Two
  60. Chapter Fifty-Three
  61. Chapter Fifty-Four
  62. Chapter Fifty-Five
  63. Chapter Fifty-Six
  64. Chapter Fifty-Seven
  65. Chapter Fifty-Eight
  66. Chapter Fifty-Nine
  67. Chapter Sixty
  68. Acknowledgements
  69. Extract
  70. Chapter One
  71. Chapter Two
  72. Chapter Three
  73. About the Publisher

There is no sign of Ted.

Chapter Fifty-Nine

Jack tries to reassure Gwen that there will be a rational explanation for Ted’s absence, but his comforting words fail to relieve her concern.

‘If you’re that worried I’ll go over and see him, check everything’s all right,’ he offers, coming up behind her as she stands on the path, watching the lane.

‘I’ll come with you,’ she says quickly. ‘I’ll ask Muriel to hang on with Tom. We shouldn’t be long.’

They walk side by side, at times so close their fingers almost touch. The silence between them is comfortable and yet there is an underlying tension that neither of them attempts to address.

Ted’s farm is quiet when they arrive. The yard is deserted and at the house blank windows are framed by curtains that have yet to be drawn, even though the day’s light has drained away. The back of Jack’s neck prickles. It is a sensation he is all too familiar with. But not in this setting.

Gwen knocks on the back door. Receiving no answer, she hammers again. Her face is pinched with concern as she cups her eyes to peer through the glass. Finding the door unlocked, she lets herself in, calling out Ted’s name. The kitchen is as neat as the day they had taken lunch. There is a revealing stillness to the air and as they move together through the house, the silence that greets them is deafening.

‘Where on earth is he?’ Gwen asks.

‘I’ll go and take a look outside. Why don’t you see if you can find any clues in here as to where he might have gone?’ Jack suggests, picking up a torch sitting on the kitchen sideboard. The bulb glows when he tests it.

‘It’s too late for him to be walking the farm.’ Gwen chews anxiously at a fingernail.

Jack knows they share the same instinct that something is terribly wrong.

‘Let me have a quick scoot around, I’ll be right back.’

Outside, he hollers for Ted. He swings the torch beam across the yard, assessing the different buildings: a rundown pig sty; a stable block with a flight of steps running up its side to the storeroom above. And then he sees the barn, with its red-brick footings and creosoted wooden walls. He walks slowly towards it.

The smell hits him as soon as he pushes open the small side door. His stomach knots and his pulse picks up, fuelled by a surge of adrenaline. He calls Ted’s name in the same gentle tone one might use to wake a sleeping child. But he knows Ted is not sleeping.