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1996. Essex: Thirteen-year-old schoolgirl Carly lives in a disenfranchised town dominated by a military base, struggling to care for her baby sister while her mum sleeps off another binge. When her squaddie brother brings food and treats, and offers an exclusive invitation to army parties, things start to look a little less bleak…

2006. London: Junior TV newsroom journalist Marie has spent six months exposing a gang of sex traffickers, but everything is derailed when New Scotland Yard announces the reopening of Operation Andromeda, the notorious investigation into allegations of sex abuse at an army base a decade earlier…

As the lives of these two characters intertwine around a single, defining event, a series of utterly chilling experiences is revealed, sparking a nail-biting race to find the truth … and justice.

A riveting, searing and devastatingly dark thriller, The Source is also a story about survival, about hopes and dreams, about power, abuse and resilience … an immense, tense and thought-provoking debut that you will never, ever forget.

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The Source

Sarah Sultoon

Dedication

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For Oli, Liora, Guy and Ben

Contents

1. Title Page
2. Dedication
3. Part One: Marie ~ London ~ 2006
4. Carly ~ Warchester ~ 1996
5. Marie ~ London ~ 2006
6. Carly ~ Warchester ~ 1996
7. Marie ~ London ~ 2006
8. Carly ~ Warchester ~ 1996
9. Marie ~ London ~ 2006
10. Carly ~ Warchester ~ 1996
11. Marie ~ London ~ 2006
12. Carly ~ Warchester ~ 1996
13. Marie ~ London ~ 2006
14. Carly ~ Warchester ~ 1996
15. Marie ~ London ~ 2006
16. Carly ~ Warchester ~ 1996
17. Part Two: Marie ~ London ~ 2006
18. Carly ~ Warchester ~ 1997
19. Marie ~ London ~ 2006
20. Carly ~ Warchester ~ 1997
21. Marie ~ London ~ 2006
22. Carly ~ Warchester ~ 1997
23. Marie ~ London ~ 2006
24. Carly ~ Warchester ~ 1997
25. Marie ~ London ~ 2006
26. Carly ~ Warchester ~ 1997
27. Marie ~ London ~ 2006
28. Carly ~ Warchester ~ 1997
29. Marie ~ London ~ 2006
30. Carly ~ Warchester ~ 1997
31. Marie ~ London ~ 2006
32. Carly ~ Warchester ~ 1997
33. Part Three: Carly ~ Warchester ~ 1998
34. Marie ~ London ~ 2006
35. Carly ~ London ~ 2001
36. Marie ~ London ~ 2006
37. Carly ~ London ~ 2001
38. Marie ~ London ~ 2006
39. Carly ~ London ~ 2001
40. Marie ~ Just outside Warchester ~ 2006
41. Carly ~ London ~ 2001
42. Marie ~ London ~ 2006
43. Carly ~ Deptford ~ 2002
44. Marie ~ London ~ 2006
45. Marie ~ Deptford ~ 2004
46. Marie ~ London ~ 2006
47. Marie ~ London ~ 2005
48. Marie ~ London ~ 2006
49. Marie ~ London ~ Six months later
50. Acknowledgements
51. About the Author
52. Copyright

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Part One

Marie ~ London ~ 2006

There is a girl. She’s standing, at ease, neat and tidy in forgettable grey. Only the clammy fists inside her pockets would give her away, but no one here is going to shake her hand. Next to her, a man. They’re partners in this, negotiating shoulder-to-shoulder with the two men opposite.

The transaction is quick – in fact for them, it looks effortless. One production-line-new ride, velvet blush interior, cream finish. Delivery to be arranged in the coming week. No money changes hands, but there is no doubt an agreement is sealed: heads nodded, eyes met, the implications of any transgressions clear from the two brick-set suits casting shadows in the hallway, from the flies buzzing to death on the strip lights overhead.

They’re inside a sprawling factory complex just outside the M25. No identifiable marks link it to anything, anywhere. In truth, they easily could just be buying a car.