The Silent Ones: Could You Leave A Child Behind? (Chrissy Livingstone Book 3) by Linda Coles

Author:Linda Coles [Coles, Linda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Blue Banana
Published: 2019-05-02T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 43

Adam and Chrissy were sitting upon a grassy knoll on the cliff. The Atlantic Ocean crashed below against weather-beaten grey rocks, the noise almost therapeutic in its rhythm but not noisy enough to drown out their conversation. Between the wind, the gulls, and the water, it was a scene off any movie, likely a love story but Chrissy’s mind was on anything but romance. As she gazed out to the silvery water on the horizon, the wind flicked her hair back and forth and she scraped it out of her eyes before taking another bite from an egg mayonnaise sandwich. Adam could see her faraway look and said, “Penny for them?”

“Sorry?” she enquired.

“You’re miles away.”

“That obvious, eh?” she said.

“I’ve known you long enough. So yes, that obvious. I’m guessing it’s the child?”

“What else could it be?” she said, “I feel so sorry for him. I just hope that he’s not in the system for too long and his parents are found sooner than later, whatever the consequences.”

“Well, since they abandoned him, he’s likely to be taken into care anyway.”

“I know. I just hope that he finds somewhere decent. You hear of such terrible stories.”

Adam shuffled along closer and tucked into his own sandwich, chewed thoughtfully for a moment before adding, “The majority are well cared for, I’m sure. The system isn’t totally broken, and yes, you hear stories, but they are the minority, only a small amount, thankfully. The few that fall through the cracks as it were. Maybe in the past things were really bad, but not these days. We’ve had too many reforms in recent years and I’m sure Ireland will be just the same in that regard.”

“I hope you’re right,” she said. The pair sat in silence for a moment or two, gazing way out to sea, enjoying each other’s company and the solitude. Chrissy’s mind was still wandering.

“Did you ever see a car at the castle? Lorcan and Ciara’s?”

Adam thought for a moment and said, “I don’t think so now you come to mention it. Why do you ask?”

“Because they’re on an extended holiday, so they must’ve come from somewhere. We know he’s a lorry driver, yet I don’t remember seeing a car or any other vehicle.”

“Well, they left somehow,” said Adam.

“Did someone pick them up, perhaps?”

“Possibly, yes, I suppose. But the question remains, why didn’t they take Flynn with them?”

“I’ve been wondering about that too,” she said. “The only thing I can think of is maybe he’s not theirs?”

Adam turned to Chrissy, gobsmacked. “Oh come on, Chrissy. How can he not be? What, you think he was borrowed in some way? For what, exactly?” Adam, visibly astonished at her notion, stopped chewing as he stared back at her.

“I know it sounds a bit of a stretch, but what parent leaves a child behind anyway?”

“A desperate one,” said Adam.

“Desperate about what though? And then there’s the small matter of the wicker coffins,” she added, wagging a finger in his face, “in their cellar.”

Adam put the remains of his sandwich back in the tub.

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