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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

Sure she does, Morgan thought. ‘She didn’t mind me not staying over?’ Morgan couldn’t resist the opportunity to have a dig.

A frown momentarily darkened her father’s face as the light from the corridor illuminated her room. He took a step inside. ‘Of course not. Why, should she mind?’

‘I think she was a bit put out.’ Morgan faked a yawn. ‘But my neck plays up if I don’t sleep in a bed – old badminton injury.’ It was a lie, of course, but a little guilt-tripping did no harm.

‘Sorry . . . I didn’t know,’ Ed said. ‘Can I get you anything?’

‘I’m fine. Night, Daddy.’

But her father stood awkwardly in the room. ‘Darlin’ . . .’ he said, his Scottish accent thick with concern. ‘You know I want the best for ya, don’t you?’ He looked at her with such a deep level of affection that she almost felt sorry for him.

‘I know. Love you.’

‘Love you too, darlin’. Sleep well.’

Closing her eyes, Morgan sank beneath her covers, happy that a seed of discontent had been sown.

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER THREE

Naomi switched on her lamp, the one beside the comfy chair, which she referred to as her nook. It was situated beside the window that overlooked the street, and was just a corner of her living room, a place that was good for reading and where she could lay her mug of coffee on the window shelf. She’d thought that Ed would never leave. Not that she didn’t enjoy his company, but she wanted one last look at the case file before she packed it away. In this one-bedroom flat, there wasn’t much room for privacy, but when they moved to Ivy Cottage, she would have a study of her own. Somewhere she could lock the door without fear of discovery . . . because Ed did not know what she was up to.

Dismissing the thought, she leaned over her chair and pulled out the folder marked HARPERS with the evidence she had gained to date. Her subscription to the online newspaper archives had been useful, and she leafed through the reports she had printed off. A lot of the discussion around the Harpers’ disappearance was rumour and speculation. It was bad enough that the local police had released very little information, but it seemed the villagers had closed ranks too. Normally, you’d get some gossiping old Nelly who was keen to spill the beans. But there was nothing. Nada – and the neighbouring villages were too far away for them to know anything. One thing Naomi knew for sure was that the Harper family had rarely left Ivy Cottage before they disappeared in the middle of the day. Every news story afterwards trotted out the same rehashed information, which was why it bugged her so much.