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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

‘Cool.’ Dawn’s voice lowered to a whisper. ‘Then you won’t mind sneaking out to see me tonight. Meet me at the graveyard, two am. It’ll be fun.’

‘That’s a bit late, isn’t it?’ Morgan groaned. ‘And it’s over a mile from my house.’

Dawn leaned in, her peppermint breath warm on Morgan’s face. ‘Please. It’s the only time I can sneak out without being seen. I’ll make it worth your while.’

‘All right then,’ Morgan said, reluctantly. She supposed she could charge her iPhone and use it as a torch.

Tugging on her hand, Dawn led her back towards the village.

‘Milkshakes are calling. My treat.’

Morgan allowed her to lead the way. For the first time in weeks, she felt happy. Who knew what tonight would bring?

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

THE VILLAGERS

Lloyd didn’t like holding another meeting so close to the last one. It didn’t do to raise a suspicion of any kind. But their ‘book club’ meetings were a cover for something more sinister. A darkness lurked behind their well-meaning platitudes as each of his neighbours gathered and exchanged small talk. They all had a reason to be here. They would give up their jobs, their friends, their freedom to protect what they knew. It had been that way ever since the Harpers’ disappearance, and Lloyd was proud to live in a village where not one person had ratted them out. He wondered how they would have fared without him to guide them through all the aspects of the investigation, and his coaching on the questions likely to be asked by the media or police.

It was his ability to keep his ear to the ground that had protected them all. But their community was so fragile. What did the future hold for the next generation? Would they rest quite so easily beneath the burden of the village secret? A cold chill enveloped him at the thought of being caught. He stood in his cosy home, the open fire gently crackling and the smell of oven-baked cookies hanging tantalisingly in the air. It was a chocolate-box cottage that harboured darkness beneath its roof. Joanne might look the grandmotherly type, but he knew she had trouble sleeping, as did he. A new family upset the dynamics and left everyone feeling unsettled. But Nighbrook was getting a reputation. Too many families had been driven out of the village. It was a reputation that they could do without, but the villagers had minds of their own. Someone was bound to disagree with their practices. It only took one person to raise a red flag.

‘You OK?’ Bambridge approached, swiping away the cookie crumbs lodged in his beard.

Lloyd rubbed the back of his neck as tension spread between his shoulder blades. There was a headache on the horizon, and he hoped they could get through this meeting with as little aggravation as possible.