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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

Returning to the present day, he lit a cigarette without thinking, quietly taking a drag. The tobacco glowed as he inhaled, a sizzling orange circle in the growing dark. Lifting his binoculars to his eyes, he shifted his gaze to Morgan’s bedroom, watching her expression as she positioned herself against the far corner of the bedroom wall. The dark smile gracing her face piqued Lloyd’s curiosity, and he watched with interest as she commanded her father’s attention. It was obvious from her body language that she was pulling his strings.

A grin tugged on the corner of Lloyd’s mouth. Devious. The kid might do his job for him. By the look of it, she’d have them packing their bags in no time. He dropped his binoculars as he caught a sudden movement from above: a flash of white growing large against the canvas of the night sky. Lloyd stiffened as the owl cut through the night, a mouse trapped in its killer talons. The bird was a beautiful hunter, rarely seen, but always watching, observing as others slept.

Lloyd stubbed out his cigarette with the heel of his boot and turned back towards the track to his Land Rover. The sight of the bird had near well given him a heart attack. Sleep would not come easily now. His hands would never wash clean. In his nightmares, he heard them calling for mercy. Calling for help. This was a mystery that would never be solved. He didn’t want to shed blood to protect it. But if he was forced to, he would.

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER SEVEN

Ten Years Previously

Her eyes curious, Grace peeped around the room. Night time was her time, and even at the tender age of seven she could comprehend that. She pushed her blankets off her knees, edging to the side of her mattress to slip on her shoes. She had been counting the minutes before she could go outside. Today, Mummy had been busy fitting thick curtains to the windows and draft excluders for the doors to keep outside air at bay. Daddy had helped with their furniture and fixed locks on the doors. But the windows weren’t nailed closed. Not yet.

She sucked on her bottom lip as she stared at the window. All she had to do was open the thick curtains and pull the latch across. But she was breaking all the rules. She shot her goldfish a guilty look. She was named Cleo, after the fish in the Disney movie Pinocchio: about the puppet who dreamed of being a real-life boy. A sigh left her lips. So much of her day was spent longing, hoping, dreaming, just like the Disney characters she watched on TV. Maybe Cleo could share in her adventure, too. She wrapped her fingers around the thick glass bowl, but it barely budged from the shelf.

‘I’ll tell you all about it when I get back,’ she whispered.