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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

A low howl of wind rattled the walls around her, delivering another slice of cold air to chill her bones. She tried to wriggle toes that she could barely feel. The sounds of the forest were all around, but she was not outside. The wooden hut . . . Dawn’s voice filtered into her thoughts. Turn right at the wooden hut and that will lead you to the church. She had been in the church. She kissed Dawn. There was snow. Lots of it. Did she get lost? Take shelter in the hut? Her arm was shaky as she tried to touch the back of her head.

‘Help,’ she croaked, coughing to clear her throat.

Get up, the voice of self-preservation commanded. But there were colours in her vision and her fingers were icy cold.

Get up or you’ll die here. Her internal voice grew louder, but she lay, unmoving. Her eyelids were so heavy. Darkness was coming and she was too tired to think. In a minute . . . she thought, huddling into herself as she lay on the cold, unforgiving ground. She succumbed to blackness as the pain faded away.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

A rasping caw rose from the guttering at the side of the house. Crows had taken up permanent residence there, their nests stuffed with leaves that blocked the flow of rain. Here in the loft, their cries seemed louder, making Naomi wish that she wasn’t on her own. Connie had left with some urgency, and now that Ed was exhausting his enquiries, he would hopefully soon be home.

Naomi cast her glance around the loft, the torch on her head offering a minimal view of the long, low-beamed space. As the timbers creaked and moaned, she was regretting every horror movie she’d watched as a teen. At least she could see where all the heat from the radiators was going – upwards, by the feel of it. The heat was stifling in the dank space, carrying a sickly-sweet smell of must. Cobwebs decorated every corner, and the floor was covered in a thick layer of dust. Crawling on her hands and knees, Naomi negotiated the boxes of items that the Harpers had left behind. Up until recently, they had been stored in Susan Harper’s sister’s loft. Naomi wondered why she had hung on to the items for so long, then suddenly let them go.

Anything of value had been taken out. There was box after box of junk. Old-fashioned knitting patterns, well-thumbed textbooks about nursing, stale-smelling Encyclopedia Britannicas with yellowing pages and cracked spines. Then there were the boxes of crockery and teapots. Moth-bitten tea cosies, unused candles, towels and linen worn threadbare. Naomi shook her head. If Ed knew she had spent his money on a load of tat . . .