All Fall Down: A gripping psychological thriller with a twist that will take your breath away Read Online Free PDF Page B

wardrobe; huffing as a mother should at the state of the room.
    She said, ‘Evan and Livvy were planning on a picnic, if you wanted to go with them?’
    ‘Nah. I’m meeting Amber and Paige.’
    Wendy detected a note of pride in Georgia’s voice. Amber was somewhere between an acquaintance and a friend, but Paige was a girl she’d previously only envied – and perhaps also feared – from afar. One of the school’s queen bees.
    In today’s prurient world, Wendy shouldn’t have been surprised that the drama had enhanced Georgia’s status. And while the girl fiercely – and rightly – guarded the secret of her past life, an event like this was no doubt viewed as safer territory to exploit.
    ‘All right,’ Wendy said, ‘but just be careful what you say—’
    ‘ Mu -um, I’m not a moron. I know !’ Shoving the phone to the edge of the bed, Georgia grabbed the duvet and vanished beneath it.

Ten
    R ob had woken with a start and immediately thought: The letter . He’d buried it among some paperwork in his study before coming back to bed, then lain awake, worrying himself into a frenzy until sheer exhaustion knocked him out.
    WE KNOW WHAT YOU DID.
    That phrase haunted him as he descended the stairs. Should he tell DS Husein? Should he risk the consequences, whatever they may be?
    His mood was made bleaker still by Wendy’s reaction when he tried to embrace her. Perhaps it was his own fault for assuming the tenderness they’d shared during the night would carry over to the light of day.
    DS Husein arrived in time to cast an envious glance at the tray of bacon butties, and feigned disapproval: ‘Spoil them like this and they’ll start to expect it.’
    ‘Blame Wendy. It’s her mission on earth to keep people well fed. Do you want one?’
    Husein declined, ascertaining from Rob’s expression that there were none spare, then had a thought: ‘I might have to confiscate PC Jarrod’s breakfast on the grounds that he already has high cholesterol.’
    When Rob told him about the phone call from the journalist, Husein said, ‘You did the right thing, but I can’t promise there won’t be more attempts like that. Some of these people stop at nothing, believe me.’
    The detective went on to ask when would be a convenient time for the family to give their formal statements. With a watery sense of dread, Rob said, ‘Early evening is best for me, if that’s okay? I’ve got a lot on today.’
    Like finding out who sent that note.

    H e was munching on his bacon roll when Wendy came down with the news that Georgia was awake, and in unusually good spirits. ‘I think this has given her a bit of extra street cred.’
    ‘As long as she doesn’t say too much—’
    ‘She knows that. Don’t worry.’
    They talked about work, and whether either of them could spare time to pop back during the day. Wendy didn’t like the idea of leaving the house empty.
    Rob shrugged. ‘I’ll see how I get on, maybe reschedule a few things.’
    ‘Really? As if you haven’t already crammed in a fortnight’s worth of jobs for this week?’
    It was an accusation Rob couldn’t deny – though he would argue that necessity had forced him to push his workload to an unreasonable level over the past few years. After a period of rapid growth, his plumbing and heating business had suffered badly as a result of the economic downturn from 2008 onwards. As a result, Rob made the fateful decision to form a partnership with a man named Iain Kelly.
    At first the enlarged business had seemed to be back on a sound footing, but gradually the financial situation worsened again, and of course the banks weren’t prepared to help. Rob was in the process of seeking support elsewhere when he found out why they were in trouble: Iain Kelly had been siphoning off money to feed a gambling habit and pacify a couple of mistresses. He’d also traded on the firm’s reputation – Rob’s reputation, in effect – to borrow from a range of friends and