The South of England 1999

 

An eerie silence greeted eleven- year- old Billy McKenzie when reached the front gate of his house that afternoon. Most days he would hear his grandmother shouting or laying down the law at his little brother Tommy.

The closed weather-beaten front door struck him as odd. Gran hated opening the door to him. He walked along the path, avoiding all the broken tiles.

Something must have happened while he attended school and he didn't feel like risking G...

Despite all the promises she kept making to herself to shape up and take control of her life, Anna wasn’t in the mood to go to work today. She called in sick, trying to sound as ill as possible, for she needed at least a day to do some serious thinking.

To at least appear more adult and in control, she chose to wear comfortable, casual clothes and old blue jeans, sweater and flat shoes created a calm efficiency that she rather liked. First stop was the coffee shop, just down the road from her...