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Back The Village Save as PDF
Chapters (62)
  1. TITLE PAGE
  2. COPYRIGHT PAGE
  3. DEDICATION
  4. CONTENTS
  5. START READING
  6. PROLOGUE
  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. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  49. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  53. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  54. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  55. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  56. CHAPTER FIFTY
  57. CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
  58. CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
  59. CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
  60. CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
  61. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  62. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

‘Wait, what do you mean, last night?’ A sick feeling grew in the pit of Naomi’s stomach. She didn’t like the sound of this at all. ‘Dawn?’ she added, when no answer came. It occurred to her that she hadn’t seen Morgan this morning, and John came in through the back door when she thought that was locked.

Dawn’s voice lowered. ‘We met in the vestry. Please don’t tell Dad. He’ll ground me for sure.’

‘What time was that?’ Naomi bowed her head against the rising winds.

‘Um . . . around two.’ Dawn spoke with some reluctance. ‘We were going to hang out in the graveyard, tell ghost stories and stuff. The last time I saw her she was heading home.’

Naomi frowned. Ghost stories in a graveyard didn’t sound like Morgan. The girl wasn’t as dark as she portrayed herself to be. It begged the bigger question – where was she now?

‘Put me back on to Joanne,’ Naomi said firmly.

‘Give me Lloyd’s mobile number,’ she said, the second Joanne came on the phone. ‘I want to report my stepdaughter missing.’

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Lloyd rubbed the pouch of skin beneath his eyes as he steered his four-by-four with one hand. He could drive this road blindfolded. He’d been here far too many times than was good for him. When he closed his eyes at night, he visited in his sleep. The only thing that eased the torment was booze. But for this visit, he needed a clear head. Naomi Ward was freaking out and he had to be seen to do his duty. Perhaps this would be the trigger that would rid Nighbrook of the family for good.

Just seeing them in the Harper family cottage taunted him. He recalled the feeling of helplessness as he visited his moonlight girl. They had grown close in such a short space of time. Back then, he could not imagine a world without Grace in it. Their friendship meant everything to him. Which was why he had brought her a present to brighten up her day. He visited when Martin was away, which was most of the time.

Losing himself in the past, he took the familiar journey, remembering how his companion on the passenger seat had emitted a whine. ‘It’s OK, girl,’ Lloyd had said. He’d bought the retriever puppy from a friend and got her at a good discount. At twelve weeks old, she was house clean and lead trained – or as much as they could be at that age. She was the last left in the litter, a runt who didn’t like going outside – and the breeder had been relieved to get rid of her.