Read Online The Hornbeam Tree by Susan Lewis - Free Book Online Page B

British girls who’d disappeared while on holiday in Croatia . Apparently they’d gone to a nightclub sometime over the weekend and no-one had seen them since, though some pretty sinister details were starting to emerge now, about a couple of local men they’d become involved with. Katie’s heart went out to their mothers, for the girls were only just nineteen, not that much older than Molly. The very idea of what the families must be going through now made her long for her old column which she’d frequently used to reach out to people in their times of need.
    Finally breaking free of the snarling Chippenham logjam she drove across Bumper’s Farm roundabout on the outskirts of town and spotting a neighbour coming the other way, waved out and wished she hadn’t told anyone Michelle was coming. By six o’clock it would be all round the village that Mrs Parsons had seen Katie Kiernan driving back from the station alone.
    Katie wasn’t going to allow herself to dwell on that, though, she was just going to focus on the moment, which right now meant enjoying this next part of the short drive home. It was her favourite stretch, for it entailed cutting through the wide open Wiltshire countryside. The sky seemed so vast, and the fields so enticing and green as they spread out to the far horizon that it made her heart sing. As she approached the Farm Shop she considered stopping off to pick up some eggs for the morning, but then just drove on by. They could always have toast.
    ‘I don’t want bloody toast.’
    She could hear Molly grumbling now. No matter what she served up lately, Molly never wanted it.
    Eventually the road split, and she indicated to turn left, then almost immediately right at the old plane tree, into Mill Lane. A couple more miles of winding country lanes and she’d arrive at Membury Hempton. She’d like just to go on driving for a while, twisting and turning, dreaming and forgetting, pretending she didn’t care where the hell Michelle was, refusing to admit that she was now more worried than ever about what was going to happen to Molly when she’d gone.
    When she drove into the small parking bay outside their cottage she could already hear the music blaring from an upstairs window. She wondered which she dreaded most, the bone-jarring beat, or silence. It had to be silence of course, because at least when the music was on, she knew Molly was at home.
    As she stepped out into a full assault from the latest boy band, she could only feel thankful that Mr and Mrs Preddy next door were hard enough of hearing not to be disturbed by the noise. Not so the neighbours who lived in one of the bigger houses, at the start of Sheep Lane, for they’d already been in touch with the local council and had even persuaded Reg Killet, the local bobby, to come and have a word. If any one of them could talk Molly into turning her damned stereo down, no-one would be happier than her mother, but so far no-one had succeeded. Taking the thing away hadn’t worked either, because Molly had simply run away from home. OK, she’d only gone to Allison Fortescue-Bond’s, and had come back the next morning, but not until Katie had agreed to return the stereo and never take it away again.
    Sighing, she pushed open the gate and paused to pull a few dead fuschias from the baskets hanging either side of the kitchen window. The most pressing issue she faced with Molly right now was whether or not to give her some condoms, because if she was getting up to no good with boys over at Allison’s she needed some protection. On the other hand, she didn’t want Molly to think she was condoning it, and since it actually might not be happening, she just couldn’t make up her mind what to do. Fourteen and already having sex. Her heart twisted with dismay, though she knew it happened, of course, she just hoped to God not to Molly.
    As she opened the door Trotty came bounding up to greet her. She gave her a cuddle, threw her ball across the