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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

Most protective fathers put curfews in place, or limited time online. They didn’t cover up a double murder. But Lloyd’s drinking addiction skewed his thinking and powered his obsessions. The same obsession that drove him back to Ivy Cottage time after time.

‘I told him to call the police.’ Joanne’s words frosted on her breath as she trudged the forest path towards Nighbrook. ‘He wouldn’t listen. He didn’t want you tainted with what you’d done. You had more in common than you think.’ Dawn knew of the story of Lloyd’s father, who had shot himself while cleaning his gun.

‘And what about the villagers? Why did they keep their silence for me?’

‘Because the rest of us accepted our portion of the blame. We all knew what Martin Harper was like, but we turned a blind eye.’

Pushing her hair back off her face, Dawn looked Joanne in the eye. ‘What do you want from me?’

Joanne had always factored in Dawn’s life, showing her kindness and loyalty. But Dawn had sensed a darkness beneath. Joanne’s feelings of resentment ran deeper than she knew.

Joanne raised a warning finger in her direction. ‘I want you to keep quiet. Do you think it was easy for us, covering up your crimes? You murdered your parents in cold blood. If I go down, I’ll take you with me.’ Ten years of frustrations finally unleashed, she strode ahead.

‘I didn’t ask for any of this,’ Dawn called after her, before checking over her shoulder. What if someone had overheard? But there was nothing but the forest, still and unmoving as she came to terms with Joanne’s revelation. All these years, Lloyd had been watching her from afar. Satisfied she was safe with the Humphries, he’d stepped aside to allow her to lead her life. Given the animosity that Joanne felt, she could see why. Lloyd wasn’t a paedophile. The love he felt for her was paternal. Nothing less, nothing more. And every day the villagers kept her secret, Lloyd’s legacy went on.

‘No more,’ she whispered to the forest in which she had once played, barefoot, beneath the stars. She slid her mobile from her pocket. It was time for the truth to be told.

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

THE VILLAGERS

The lights were dimmed in the rectory, and the curtains firmly closed. Lloyd’s cottage was out of bounds, because journalists had taken residence in the village. His death and the secret of Ivy Cottage were making headline news.

‘Thank you all for coming,’ Joanne said to the chosen neighbours who had been privileged with an invite. ‘Full turnout as usual.’