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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

Naomi knew that Connie was working hard to improve life for the families in her borough. She heaved a sigh, tired of the argument.

‘Come back to London.’ Connie’s tone softened as she reached out and squeezed her sister’s hand. ‘Work freelance, using your old contacts. Have your marriage and your job. You can have it all.’

But Naomi was too ashamed to tell her the real reason why she’d quit. She had lost her bottle. She didn’t want deadlines to stress over. To lose the respect of her colleagues. These days she was as soft as the marshmallows she sprinkled on her hot chocolate. ‘Can we change the subject – please?’ Naomi shifted on the sofa, feeling the heat of Connie’s spotlight. Once she got her teeth into something, her sister was like a dog with a bone.

‘OK then, what have we got on the case so far?’ Connie’s face was alight with curiosity. ‘Susan was a housewife, wasn’t she?’ She cast an eye over Naomi’s cardigan. To her thick woollen socks. To her, housewife was a dirty word.

‘That’s right.’ Naomi tucked her feet beneath her. ‘The family spent a few years in each place before upping sticks again.’

‘Why?’ Connie said. ‘If Martin travelled abroad, why did Susan and Grace have to move?’

‘To get the best care for her daughter.’ Naomi tried to imagine the trials Susan had faced.

Connie’s face was thoughtful. ‘She obsessed over that kid, from what I’ve read.’

Naomi delivered a shrug. ‘Doesn’t every mum obsess over their child?’

‘Only the good ones,’ Connie replied.

It was true; they had seen enough child neglect cases in their careers to testify to that.

‘Grace was loved by the community,’ Naomi said. ‘They took her disappearance badly. They closed ranks . . . they still have.’

‘Or they’re covering something up. Why else are they so wary?’

‘That’s a conversation for the morning.’ Naomi stretched as she yawned.

Her sister was right about the villagers, given how Joanne had turned on her today. The woman had a right to be annoyed, but to ban her from the café without allowing her to look into it? The more she thought about it, the more unsettled she felt. Had Morgan put maggots in the cake, or was it an excuse for Joanne to keep Naomi away? Naomi was good at reading people’s behaviour, and the villagers had something to hide.

She didn’t just come here for the house. She came to infiltrate the community. To sneak a glance at the cards they were holding close to their chest. And nobody – not Connie, not Joanne, and certainly not Morgan, would stop her.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN