PERSONS UNKNOWN
SUSIE STEINER

Copyright

The Borough Press

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

Published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2017

Copyright © Susie Steiner 2017

Susie Steiner asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2017

Cover layout by Claire Ward © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2017

Cover photographs: Front © Henry Steadman. Back © Dave Wall/Arcangel

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books

Ebook Edition © February 2017 ISBN: 9780008123352

Source ISBN: 9780008123338

Version: 2018-04-20

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

14 December

Jon-Oliver

Manon

Davy

Manon

Davy

Day 1

Manon

Davy

Kilburn, North London

Bernadette

Davy

Manon

Day 2

Manon

Davy

Birdie

Day 3

Davy

One Week in

Manon

Davy

Day 9

Davy

Birdie

Saskia

Davy

Manon

Two Weeks in

Davy

Manon

Day 15

Davy

Manon

Six Months Earlier

Saskia

Manon

Day 16

Davy

Manon

Day 17

Manon

Davy

Three Weeks in

Manon

Birdie

Day 23

Manon

Day 24

Davy

Manon

Davy

Manon

Day 25

Davy

Birdie

Manon

Day 27

Davy

Manon

Birdie

Manon & Birdie

Day 28

Davy

Manon

Davy

Day 30

Davy

Gary Stanton

Davy

Manon

Davy

Day 32

Manon

Davy

Manon

Ellie

February

Birdie

May

Manon

July

Davy

August

Manon

Acknowledgements

Keep Reading

About the Author

Also by Susie Steiner

About the Publisher

14 December

Jon-Oliver

Down. Dizzy. Pitching left. He is draining away like dirty water, round and round. Stumbling not walking, the ground threatening to come up and meet him. And yet he presses on. Something’s not right.

He is swampy, heavy-footed. His shin is throbbing. A scuffle – like being spun in blind man’s buff – so quick that when it was over he thought he’d been mugged, but he patted himself down and his wallet and phone were there all right.

His muscles are soupy, unresponsive. His legs wade, the landscape too broad for him to make headway. The air is close like a wet web. He can barely draw breath.

He stumbles to the right, into a muddy wooded area in a direction he hadn’t intended to take and it’s as if the ground is reaching for him. Is it quicksand, not mud?

He’s really scared now; nervously places a hand to his chest. His shirt is wet through but it’s not raining. He looks at his hand. It is glistening dark; the colour unclear because of the dark and the orangey street lighting.

He starts to panic, cannot fill his lungs. What is happening to him?

He falls into the mud, feels some arms take him up and cradle him, looks up to see blonde hair. The alien scent of perfume.

Saskia?

‘Sass?’ he whispers, confused. Is she the cause of this, after all her stupidity? She went too far and he couldn’t stop her.

‘Sass?’

His sight dims, he is too tired.

The world dips.

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