The Killer Next Door

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The Killer Next Door Page 34

by Alex Marwood


  The lights of the station loom up ahead. Drab little suburban station, nothing but a waste bin and a timetable and an empty grey platform. She climbs up on to the footbridge and looks down on the tracks. Oh, well, she thinks, easy come, easy go, and walks on down to the southbound platform.

  A gate on the platform leads out to the car park. Cher passes through it and stands on the pavement, looks left and right. Over by the exit, an old transit van, white paint, rust on the bumpers, turns on its headlights. She tosses her head and walks towards it. As she nears, the door on the side slides open and shows a dark, box-filled interior. She doesn’t hesitate. Doesn’t think. Just reaches the van and climbs inside.

  Vesta slams the doors and clambers into the front seat. ‘We thought you were never coming,’ she says.

  ‘I know,’ says Cher. ‘Fucking social workers. Talk, talk, talk.’

  ‘Language, Cher,’ says Vesta, and Cher feels a big smile spread across her face.

  ‘Hiya,’ she says.

  ‘Hi,’ says Collette, and puts the engine into gear.

  ‘How’s your hand?’ asks Cher.

  ‘Bloody horrible,’ says Collette, ‘and I’ll never play the piano again. How’s your collarbone?’

  ‘Bit less broken,’ says Cher. ‘Thanks for asking.’

  ‘Great,’ says Collette, and starts to reverse. ‘Sit down, there’s a good girl. Don’t want you killing yourself before we even get there.’

  ‘Where are we going, again?’ asks Cher.

  ‘Ilfracombe,’ says Vesta. ‘You’ll love it.’

  ‘If you say so,’ she says, contentedly. ‘Sounds like crap to me.’

  She settles down on one of Vesta’s sofa cushions, next to the sports bag Collette’s been carrying with her for three long years, and allows herself a sigh of contentment.

  ‘By the way,’ says Vesta. ‘Your cat’s in that crate. Bloody nightmare, he is.’

  Table of Contents

  Praise for The Wicked Girls :

  About the Author

  Also by Alex Marwood

  COPYRIGHT

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  Epigraph

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Epilogue

  Postscript

 

 

 


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