Sweetie (39 page)

George Rush’s maisonette was boarded up and covered in graffiti. ‘Pervert’, ‘Nonce’ and ‘Cunt’ were all scrawled across the chipboard that had been put up after the windows had been smashed in. A few bunches of dead flowers were still pinned up on the back garden gate, a token to mark the deaths of the two women who had disappeared from their midst unnoticed. Lizzie felt someone step on her grave then and she shivered. Not for the first time since the murder, she gained comfort from the memory of the lost children. She felt no remorse and no guilt for what had happened to George. Justice had been done. It was the cold night air that sent shivers through her body, not the memory of George Rush for she was sure he was burning in hell.

398

The lights from Grace’s house could be seen in the distance and Lizzie quickened her step. The door opened to the smell of cinnamon and candles, and Grace hugged her. Michelle rushed over to her mother-in-law and threw her arms around her. Lizzie was home, she had her family around her, for she knew that she had found real friendship and love with these remarkable women.

Gillian, Potty, Michelle, Nanny, Sue and Lizzie all filled their glasses in a toast to Grace. Drinking orange juice and patting her swollen pregnant tummy, she raised her glass too.

‘To us, for ever and always, and Happy Christmas!’

‘Happy Christmas!’ they all cheered.

399

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• Front Cover
  
• Frontmatter
  
  • About the Author
    
  • By the Same Author
    
  • Title Page
    
  • Epub Copyright Page
    
  • Copyright Page
    
  • Dedication
    
  • Acknowledgements
    
• Introduction
  
• 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
  
• Endmatter
  
  • The Power Of Reading