Josephine Cox Sunday Times Bestsellers Collection

DEDICATION (#ua374207d-ce21-51f6-bc3f-2dcf3f14ac57)

PART ONE (#u20fcf7af-0218-5f45-8e21-24c506c5740d)

CHAPTER ONE (#u2287a05f-5abe-5419-92c6-c727e49b9eff)

CHAPTER TWO (#u98185943-4c39-5282-8514-95fa62fa6974)

CHAPTER THREE (#u537ebf0f-ec0a-5191-b5c3-b043368bfabe)

CHAPTER FOUR (#u2d0b1aab-3b4b-5f08-a64b-6a85e08f7308)

CHAPTER FIVE (#ud7719250-851b-5a19-92d5-696e07783df2)

CHAPTER SIX (#u6e6654a9-9e12-5cdb-8515-3c8890541d72)

CHAPTER SEVEN (#u4bbeea75-6f71-59c7-a52c-0ef565c9a642)

CHAPTER EIGHT (#u72078688-a0d3-5e98-a270-96a51476c0b2)

CHAPTER NINE (#ua030a4ff-bab4-5272-8f2a-fb91ccd7567b)

PART TWO (#u751db995-3011-5e5b-be59-43fd7d46634e)

CHAPTER TEN (#u58d82c3c-6583-5767-9682-ae9f3e9328c0)

CHAPTER ELEVEN (#u15528642-6cef-5071-a773-437a36eedc9a)

CHAPTER TWELVE (#u808d4ef6-0b85-5593-b0a8-efa499149748)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN (#u4677b053-3768-59d2-aaa5-de97ca91a7e1)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN (#u1300ed08-eeb0-513e-87c8-2a7783941ec9)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN (#u4f16880c-8b8a-5c6d-aa74-1b3b16b7e91f)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

PART THREE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER NINETEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TWENTY (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE (#litres_trial_promo)

PART FOUR (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE (#litres_trial_promo)

Part 1 (#ulink_d9cfa253-b1e3-5e81-972f-9cd00eee56dc)

Late March, 1954

The Telling

Salford, Bedfordshire

Chapter 1 (#ulink_f112aba6-045e-5708-81c2-ae7eb5bf82de)

SHE WOKE WITH a cry. It was the same dream as before – the same place, the same faces, the same jolt of terror; real in her dream, real in her life. Would it never leave her be?

The sweat dripping down her temples and her whole body trembling, she clambered out of bed and went to the window, where for a moment she stood, regaining her composure, collecting her senses.

Drawing back the curtains, she peered into the darkness, thick and impenetrable, like the deepest recesses of her mind. Dismissing the nightmare, she returned to the question that tormented her.

Should she tell? Would it destroy lives and minds? Would they hate her or, as she desperately hoped, would they thank her? But then, why would they thank her when the news she had to reveal was so unbearably cruel?

‘Dear God, give me the courage to do what’s right,’ she prayed.

Maybe it would be better if the truth was never told. Yet that would be the coward’s way out, and she might be many things, but Lucy Baker was no coward.

She glanced at the clock; it was five minutes past three – another day beginning. Taking her robe from the back of the chair, she slipped into it and sat on the edge of the bed, where she remained for a time. She sighed, a long, broken sigh. ‘Oh, my dearest Barney, my joy, my life.’ There was a murmuring of guilt, but never regret. ‘I loved you then, and I love you still.’

Barney had been her only true love, and it was a love all-consuming, all-powerful. There was no way to describe how much she missed him. No words. Only memories.

The smile slipped away and in its place came a look of hatred.

While Barney had brought her joy, Edward Trent had brought her tragedy.

‘Edward Trent … monster!’ Her mouth curled with loathing, she spat out his name as though it was tainted with poison. His wickedness had caused such pain; she would carry the burden of it for the rest of her days.

Lucy was no stranger to nightmares. A thousand times, she had awoken terrified and sobbing, reliving the night when Edward Trent had kidnapped her little son Jamie, and caused him to drown.

In the sorrowful years that followed, Trent had haunted her every waking and sleeping hour. In the daytime she would be in the middle of a mundane task, like washing the dishes or drawing the curtains, and suddenly he was gnawing at her mind until she could hardly think straight. Then at night came the dreams which left her breathless and shaking. Eventually, over the past twenty and more years, she had grown used to them. Like the hatred, they had become part of her life.

In the dreams it was always the same: the darkness, the water, and the chase … that unforgettable chase, ending in such horror.

This time though, the dream had been different. There was no frantic chase, no rushing water as it tumbled downstream, tugging at her ankles and throwing her off-balance; there wasn’t even the soul-wrenching sound of her child crying. This dream was like nothing she had ever experienced.

She had seen only his face, that swarthy, handsome face, his mouth frozen in an easy smile. Unlike before, he was not threatening her, nor was he reaching out. There was only the smile. And those mesmerising eyes, utterly chilling. And the silence – eerie, absolute.

‘Take a hold of yourself, Lucy,’ she said aloud. Grabbing the crumpled corner of the bedsheet, she wiped the sweat from her face. ‘It was just a dream. He can’t hurt you any more.’ So many times she had tried to convince herself of that. Even so, the fear never went away.