‘No,’ Ed replied, but Morgan already knew that when her mum went AWOL, she wasn’t contactable by any means. Ed didn’t know about her past disappearances. Morgan was too loyal to her mother and too scared that Social Services would take her away. Harmony would turn up when she was ready to be found. ‘Can you stay here with Naomi if I have to go? Help her settle in?’ He leaned forward conspiratorially, whispering as he winked. ‘She’s not used to the country. I think she’s scared of the dark.’

‘Don’t worry, Dad.’ Morgan squeezed her father’s hand. ‘I’ll take care of her.’

And she would. With her dad out of the picture, there would be nothing stopping her.

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER TEN

Lloyd relaxed into his wingback chair, one eye on his wife as he polished the barrel of his rifle, which was placed between the fork of his legs. He knew Joanne hated his guns, but they were as much a part of his home as he was. Firepower was nothing to be ashamed of. It kept people in line.

‘You paid a visit to the house?’ Joanne said, asking what had been most likely playing on her mind all day. She dipped her hand into a bag of boiled sweets that was nestling on her lap.

‘Kinda,’ Lloyd said in a non-committal drawl. He wasn’t going to tell her that he’d been lurking in the trees like some kind of peeping Tom.

‘They’ve moved in then?’ Joanne rolled the sweet around in her mouth. ‘Is everything OK?’

Lloyd’s grip on the rifle tightened. He didn’t like it when she asked questions. He told Joanne a long time ago that she didn’t need to worry every hour of the day. She could trust that everything was in hand. Yet she stared at him with searching eyes, like a puppy waiting for its owner to toss a ball.

‘Their furniture comes tomorrow,’ he said reluctantly. ‘They came a day early to prepare. You’ll meet them soon enough.’