No Turning Back: The can’t-put-it-down thriller of the year

Anna looked around her. ‘I thought you would have cleared all this out by now.’

‘I keep meaning to.’

Anna passed her fingers over the tape recorder. ‘I used to love this thing.’

‘Your father made me buy it for your birthday. I didn’t like it.’

‘Why not?’

‘I knew what it would start.’

‘Start what?’

‘You following him into journalism.’

Her mother had never been keen about Anna following in her father’s footsteps considering what it had done to his stress levels.

‘I’ve been proved right,’ her mother continued.

‘What do you mean?’

‘Your name all over the papers, people targeting you, like earlier.’

‘That has nothing to do with what I do. Even if I wasn’t a radio presenter, I’d still be targeted for what I did.’

‘To this extent? I think not, Anna. It gives you a sense of godliness, doesn’t it?’

Anna shook her head in confusion. ‘Excuse me?’

Her mother clenched and unclenched her fists. ‘I’m not sure you would have killed the boy if it weren’t for the confidence your job and status gives you. The knowledge that every decision you make is the right one.’

‘I had no choice! I didn’t decide to kill him. The only decision I made was to protect my child.’

‘Do you really believe that, Anna? I can see the doubt in your eyes, the guilt. Was it really a natural instinct to protect?’

Anna grabbed her bags. ‘It was a mistake coming here.’

Beatrice strode towards her, putting her hand on her arm, her eyes pleading with hers. ‘I’m sorry. Don’t go.’

Anna looked into her mother’s eyes. Why couldn’t they just have a normal relationship?

‘Please, Anna.’ Beatrice’s hand slipped away from Anna’s and she twisted her fingers around each other, biting her lip as she looked outside. ‘You know how I get, the stress, it makes me – me—’ She shook her head. ‘It’s very difficult for me, Anna, very difficult.’

Then she left the room.

Anna sank down onto her bed. How long would she be able to stand staying here with her mother?

Anna peered down at Joni as she strode along one of Ridgmont Waters’ cobbled back streets. Joni was sitting in her new pushchair, the seat now angled so she was facing Anna. Joni smiled up at her and Anna felt herself relax. People she knew greeted her, some stopping her to praise her for how she’d protected herself. It was over two weeks since her name had got out, and the reaction from the public and the press had been overwhelmingly positive. Newspaper columnists were talking about Anna’s ‘bravery and compassion’, the Daily Mail even calling her ‘lioness mother protecting her cub’. Her old school friend Yvonne had tried to grab her for an interview one day when she walked out of her mother’s house to put some rubbish out. But she’d made it clear she wouldn’t be giving interviews. Yvonne had surprised her by being quite aggressive about it, following her up the path. In the end, she’d written a positive story too, if a little more lukewarm than the others.

Twitter notifications had been filled with messages of support as well, mainly people praising her for ‘taking a stand against the scum’. And all her friends and colleagues had emailed or texted with praise and admiration.

Anna sighed. Was Elliot Nunn really ‘scum’? Even if he had tried to kill Joni, he was still a kid himself. What exactly had driven him to that point, what sort of life must he have led? The more Anna found out about his family, the more she despaired. His father clearly had anger issues, and his mother seemed very fragile.

She’d been too scared to leave the bungalow until now, remembering the look of rage on Elliot’s father’s face. But it wasn’t fair on Joni to stay cooped up inside. More importantly, she had to get away from her mother. Two weeks inside the bungalow brought back too many memories, memories now turned into her day-to-day reality as she struggled to cope with her mother’s up and down moods, one minute distant and brooding, the next non-stop chatter about pointless things like the birds in the trees and the colour of the sky, anything but what Anna was going through.

And anyway, people from The Docks didn’t tend to venture into the village due to the huge shopping centre on their doorstep catering to their needs. This more upmarket part of Ridgmont Waters was quiet, people letting others get on with their lives. They were used to seeing the occasional famous face here, the large holiday homes overlooking the beach nearby attracting the rich and famous over the summer holidays.

Anna walked into a small seaside cafe. It had recently attracted new owners, the once dry sandwiches and warm lemonades replaced by sharing platters and unusually flavoured ice creams.

She walked through towards the small veranda at the back which overlooked the beach. Nathan was already out there on one of the white iron tables, signing a woman’s napkin. Anna frowned. So much for villagers not intruding.

Nathan noticed Anna walk outside and jumped up, manoeuvring a chair so Anna could get the pushchair in. People glanced up as she passed, recognition flickering in their eyes. But they quickly returned to their Sunday papers and Anna took a breath of relief.

‘Look at you,’ Nathan said, taking his sunglasses off and smiling at Joni. She giggled and grabbed his hand. ‘Isn’t she gorgeous?’

‘She is,’ Anna said, finding a highchair in the corner and lifting Joni into it, safe and snug. ‘My gorgeous perfect little girl, aren’t you?’

‘Mama!’ Joni exclaimed.

Nathan laughed. ‘She seems well. How did the visit from social services go last week?’

‘Short and sweet. It was clear they were just there to tick some boxes.’

‘Good,’ he said. ‘And how are you? You look tired.’

Anna thought of the restless nights, dreams filled with blood and Elliot’s dying blue eyes.

‘Not sleeping great, as you’d expect,’ she said as she sat down. ‘But things are starting to feel a bit more normal.’

‘Good. We’re still getting lots of emails in to the show.’

‘I’ve been listening. Georgia’s doing a great job,’ Anna said, referring to the news anchor who’d temporarily taken over from her.

‘Yes, she’s great, I’ve always liked Georgia.’ Nathan raised an eyebrow. ‘But she’s not you, Anna.’

‘You’re too kind.’ The waitress came up and Anna ordered an iced coffee and lemon drizzle cake as she pulled some snacks out for Joni. In the distance, the sea was calm, the skies bright blue. The heatwave hadn’t really let up, but it was more bearable than previous days. People sat in the village’s distinctive fuchsia pink deckchairs that dotted the seafront. A child ran along it with a red flag in the air, his father laughing as he followed him. A golden retriever jumped in and out of the waves, yapping at them. Beyond, the lighthouse watched over them all, its windows twinkling in the sun.

It almost felt like a normal day.

‘There’s an article about Elliot Nunn’s brother in the Sun today,’ Nathan said, quirking an eyebrow as he jutted his chin towards a newspaper being read by an elderly couple on the beach. ‘Bit of a local criminal, apparently.’

Anna followed his gaze to see the newspaper he was referring to, a large photo of a man staring out from it. Anna let out a gasp. It was the same man who’d helped her when Elliot’s parents had confronted her a couple of weeks before.

‘What’s wrong?’ Nathan asked.

‘That’s not Elliot Nunn’s brother, is it?’ Nathan nodded. Anna frowned. Elliot’s brother had helped her? But why?

‘What’s wrong, Anna?’ Nathan asked.