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Back Thin Air Save as PDF
Chapters (53)
  1. Title page
  2. Dedication page
  3. Contents
  4. Acknowledgements
  5. Chapter One
  6. Chapter Two
  7. Chapter Three
  8. Chapter Four
  9. Chapter Five
  10. Chapter Six
  11. Chapter Seven
  12. Chapter Eight
  13. Chapter Nine
  14. Chapter Ten
  15. Chapter Eleven
  16. Chapter Twelve
  17. Chapter Thirteen
  18. Chapter Fourteen
  19. Chapter Fifteen
  20. Chapter Sixteen
  21. Chapter Seventeen
  22. Chapter Eighteen
  23. Chapter Nineteen
  24. Chapter Twenty
  25. Chapter Twenty-One
  26. Chapter Twenty-Two
  27. Chapter Twenty-Three
  28. Chapter Twenty-Four
  29. Chapter Twenty-Five
  30. Chapter Twenty-Six
  31. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  32. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  33. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  34. Chapter Thirty
  35. Chapter Thirty-One
  36. Chapter Thirty-Two
  37. Chapter Thirty-Three
  38. Chapter Thirty-Four
  39. Chapter Thirty-Five
  40. Chapter Thirty-Six
  41. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  42. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  43. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  44. Chapter Forty
  45. Chapter Forty-One
  46. Chapter Forty-Two
  47. Chapter Forty-Three
  48. Chapter Forty-Four
  49. Chapter Forty-Five
  50. Chapter Forty-Six
  51. Chapter Forty-Seven
  52. By Ann Cleeves
  53. Copyright page

‘Just a text on the Saturday afternoon to say they’d arrived safely and that it was a beautiful place.’ The woman had walked into the hall full of images. ‘I texted her back and told her to have a lovely time. Put an “x” on the bottom, with one of those ridiculous smiley faces.’ She turned to see that Perez was following her. ‘I’m glad I did that at least. I hope she knew how much I cared for her.’

‘Do you have any questions for me?’ he asked, remembering his promise when he’d phoned the night before.

Her hand was on the door handle and she was frozen for a moment. ‘No,’ she said. ‘I don’t think I do.’

Again he was shocked. Most relatives wanted to know if their relatives had suffered. He walked down the street expecting her to call him back to ask the question that was obviously in her head. But when he turned to look, the door was already shut. As at her last meeting with her daughter, she was too proud to change her mind.

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

On Wednesday morning Willow woke to fog so thick that she could hardly see the grass outside the bedroom window. Her first thought was that she was glad Jimmy Perez wasn’t scheduled to return from London to the islands until the following day and hoped the weather would clear to let him in. Then she wondered why that mattered so much to her. The day before she and Sandy had been out visiting, taking statements from everyone who’d been at the party, asking about Eleanor. Most of them remembered her. ‘She danced like a demon,’ one elderly man had said, his eyes twinkling. No one had remembered seeing a girl in a white dress on the beach or admitted to being part of the smoking couple whom Polly had mentioned. Willow felt that the investigation had got stuck and hoped that Jimmy Perez would bring a new energy to it on his return. Of course that’s why I want him back here. But she was too honest to be taken in by the thought. Yeah, right. He’s got under your skin, lady. Just let that go and concentrate on work. You really don’t need the complication.

Sandy was already in the kitchen eating breakfast and Charles and David were there too. They were sitting at the table, drinking tea. David jumped up as soon as he saw her, offering eggs from the Malcolmsons’ croft. She’d told him when she arrived that she was vegetarian. All that I have left from a childhood in a commune. Yoga every morning and a refusal to eat meat.

‘Yes, please, to the eggs.’ When she was working a case she always felt hungry. ‘Scrambled. With toast made from Grusche’s bread, if there’s any left.’