Claire Seeber - The Girl with the Fragile Mind

AVON

A division of HarperCollinsPublishers

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain as Fragile Minds by HarperCollins Publishers , London, 2011

This edition published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Publishers 2015

Copyright © Claire Seeber 2011

Claire Seeber 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

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.

ISBN-13: 9781847562074

Ebook edition © MARCH 2015 ISBN: 9780008142421

Version: 2016-03-12

‘An intense psychological thriller’

OK!

‘An absorbing page-turner’

Closer

‘A powerful and sensitive treatment of every parent’s worst nightmare’

Laura Wilson, The Guardian

For Fenn and Raffi, again.

All my love, always.

And in memory of my beloved grandpa,

Roy Livingstone Holmes.

Lemonade lollies forever.

‘Whoever takes one life, takes the world entire,

Whoever saves a single life, saves the world entire.’

The Talmud

‘No rescue? What, a prisoner? I am even

The natural fool of fortune. Use me well.’

King Lear, Act IV, Scene VI

Cover

Title Page Claire Seeber The Girl with The Fragile Mind

Copyright Copyright AVON A division of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF www.harpercollins.co.uk First published in Great Britain as Fragile Minds by HarperCollins Publishers , London, 2011 This edition published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Publishers 2015 Copyright © Claire Seeber 2011 Claire Seeber 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 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. ISBN-13: 9781847562074 Ebook edition © MARCH 2015 ISBN: 9780008142421 Version: 2016-03-12

Praise Praise for Claire Seeber ‘An intense psychological thriller’ OK! ‘An absorbing page-turner’ Closer ‘A powerful and sensitive treatment of every parent’s worst nightmare’ Laura Wilson, The Guardian

Dedication Dedication For Fenn and Raffi, again. All my love, always. And in memory of my beloved grandpa, Roy Livingstone Holmes. Lemonade lollies forever.

Epigraph Epigraph ‘Whoever takes one life, takes the world entire, Whoever saves a single life, saves the world entire.’ The Talmud ‘No rescue? What, a prisoner? I am even The natural fool of fortune. Use me well.’ King Lear, Act IV, Scene VI

Prologue

Thursday 13th July Claudie

Thursday 13th July Silver

Thursday 13th July Claudie

Friday 14th July Claudie

Friday 14th July Kenton

Friday 14th July Claudie

Friday 14th July Kenton

Friday 14th July Claudie

Friday 14th July Silver

Friday 14th July Claudie

Friday 14th July Kenton

Monday 17th July Claudie

Tuesday 18th July Silver

Tuesday 18th July Claudie

Tuesday 18th July Kenton

Tuesday 18th July Claudie

Tuesday 18th July Silver

Tuesday 18th July Claudie

Wednesday 19th July Silver

Wednesday 19th July Claudie

Wednesday 19th July Silver

Wednesday 19th July Claudie

Wednesday 19th July Silver

Wednesday 19th July Lana

Thursday 20th July Claudie

Thursday 20th July Silver

Thursday 20th July Claudie

Thursday 20th July Silver

Thursday 20th July Claudie

Friday 21st July Silver

Friday 21st July Claudie

Friday 21st July Silver

Friday 21st July Claudie

Friday 21st July Silver

Friday 21st July Claudie

Friday 21st July Kenton

Friday 21st July Silver

Friday 21st July Claudie

Friday 21st July Silver

Friday 21st July Claudie

Friday 21st July Kenton

Friday 21st July Claudie

Saturday 22nd July Silver

Saturday 22nd July Kenton

Saturday 22nd July Claudie

Saturday 22nd July Silver

Saturday 22nd July Claudie

Saturday 22nd July Silver

Saturday 22nd July Claudie

Saturday 22nd July Silver

Sunday 23rd July Kenton

Sunday 23rd July Silver

Saturday 22nd July Claudie

Sunday 23rd July Silver

Sunday 23rd July Claudie

Sunday 23rd July Silver

Monday 24th July Claudie

Monday 24th July Silver

Monday 24th July Claudie

Monday 24th July Silver

Monday 24th July Claudie

Monday 24th July Silver

Monday 24th July Claudie

Monday 24th July Silver

Monday 24th July Claudie

Monday 24th July Kenton

Tuesday 25th July Claudie

Tuesday 25th July Silver

Tuesday 25th July Silver

Tuesday 25th July Kenton

Tuesday 25th July Claudie

Tuesday 25th July Silver

Thursday 24th July Kenton

Tuesday 25th July Claudie

Thursday Night, 13th July Claudie

Friday 14th July: The Berkeley Square Bomb Claudie

Tuesday 25th July Kenton

Tuesday 25th July Silver

Tuesday 25th July Claudie

Tuesday 25th July Silver

Tuesday 25th July Kenton

Tuesday 25th July Silver

Tuesday 25th July Kenton

Tuesday 25th July Silver

Claudie

Read on for an exclusive short story by Claire Seeber

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Other Books by Claire Seeber

About the Publisher

There are plenty of beginnings, but only one end to my story.

At the police station in the small country town, they brought me tea and toast, but I didn’t touch it; I pushed it away. I didn’t trust them. Any of them, any more.

My feet were cut and bleeding; I didn’t care. They matched my sore hands. In my head I was still running, and the road was cold and rough beneath my naked feet and I didn’t care. The pain pushed me on. I was a streak of white light in a black surround, and then you were beside me, only you couldn’t keep up, so I leant down and carried you, light as thistledown, in my arms. No one could stop us; I would run and run and run—