‘I was always Linnie to Jay. Then inside I got Lyn. Now I’m Chloe. I’ve lived all these lives, you see? Better at living then dying.’ She closed her eyes and her breathing settled. He wondered if she’d fallen asleep.
‘Chloe?’ he said.
‘Yes?’ she said, but her eyes remained shut.
‘They’re going to review your conviction. I think there’s a good chance they’ll overturn it. You’ve got a lot of people wanting to help you.’
She opened her eyes and looked at him for a few seconds before she spoke.
‘I won’t get the last ten years back though.’
‘No,’ he said. ‘You won’t.’
Her eyes fluttered as if she was too tired to keep them open. The room was very warm. Sean loosened his collar.
‘Who’s your friend?’ Chloe said. ‘That woman outside?’
‘That’s Lizzie.’
‘She’s pretty.’
‘Yes.’ He turned towards the door. The back of Lizzie’s head was visible through the window, the light catching the shine in her dark hair. ‘Yes, she is.’
As he watched, a large man and a short, stout woman approached Chloe’s room. The man was carrying an enormous bunch of blousy-headed flowers, wrapped in a cone of brown paper. Lizzie spoke to them and nodded towards Sean.
‘You’ve got visitors,’ he said.
Chloe raised her head to see.
‘Bill,’ she said. ‘And Brenda.’
‘Shall I tell Lizzie to let them in?’
‘Not yet,’ her head dropped back into the pillow. ‘Is she your girlfriend?’
Sean thought about what had passed between him and Lizzie before they had arrived at the hospital. They’d sat for an hour in The Salutation pub, discussing the case, until Lizzie had said.
‘Let’s talk about us.’
‘There’s an “us”?’ he’d said.
‘I hope so’. And she’d kissed him. He was still wondering if he’d imagined it.
He took Chloe’s hand.
‘Yes,’ he said, ‘I think she is my girlfriend.’
‘That’s nice. And thank you, for what you did.’
‘You’re welcome, Chloe, you’re very welcome.’
She smiled weakly and closed her eyes again.
‘And welcome to my family,’ Sean said quietly, but he wasn’t sure if she heard him.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Many thanks to everyone who has helped me in my research, especially Ghazala Fateh, Brian Watson, Alex, Boris, The Captain, Reza Ben Gajra and Maggie Pearson. Thank you to Andy Morgan and Benedict Wallbank for their structural knowledge of ten-storey tower blocks and all my friends on social media who have answered random questions over the last eighteen months. Thank you Josh Parker for gardening advice, love and food; you have been unwavering in your support for my writing and I am eternally thankful that we found each other.
Thank you to everyone who has given me encouragement along the way, especially Carole Bromley, Lesley Glaister, Rivka Fine, Claire Malcolm and the team at New Writing North. Thank you to Laura Longrigg at MBA Literary Agents for looking after me so brilliantly and Allison & Busby; an amazing team who have made this all possible.
Thank you to Fiona Barrows, Livia Nicholson, Allison Loftfield, Chris Bridge and Eleanor Wilson for reading various drafts and versions. A huge thank you to my family for your ongoing support.
Particular thanks to the residents and colleagues at HMP Askham Grange and YOI Wetherby.
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About the Author
HELEN CADBURY writes fiction, poetry and plays. She worked as an actor before becoming a teacher and recently spent five years teaching in prisons. She has an MA in Writing from Sheffield Hallam University. Helen grew up in Birmingham and Oldham. After living in London for many years, she came north and settled in York where she lives with her family. Her debut novel, To Catch a Rabbit, was winner of the inaugural Northern Crime Competition.
helencadbury.com
By Helen Cadbury
To Catch a Rabbit
Bones in the Nest
Copyright
Allison & Busby Limited
12 Fitzroy Mews
London W1T 6DW
allisonandbusby.com
First published in Great Britain by Allison & Busby in 2015.
This ebook edition published in Great Britain by Allison & Busby in 2015.
Copyright © 2015 by HELEN CADBURY
The moral right of the author is hereby asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All characters and events in this publication other than those clearly in the public domain are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent buyer.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-0-7490-1764-4
Table of Contents
Title Page
Dedication
Contents
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
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
About the Author
By Helen Cadbury
Copyright