1969
Chapter 1: Linda Booth
Ashford, morning: Tuesday, September 16th
She’d always been afraid of the dark. The shadows along the corridors of the hospital, the blackness of corners, the sounds, source unseen, on the maternity ward were the stuff her nightmares were made of.
She kept herself busy by checking on the sleeping mothers in each bed and by visiting the nursery, where the babies snuffled and whimpered. She told herself she was nothing if not professional, even as she picked up and cuddled a crying infant; something forbidden by the ward sister.
Now, standing in one of the small private side wards, Linda Booth watched with relief as the sky lightened with shades of pastel blue and gold above the buildings on the opposite side of the hospital grounds.
Behind her the woman in the bed shifted and moaned. Linda moved to her side. ‘How do you feel, Mrs Worth?’
Harriet Worth moved her head on the pillow and pushed herself up in the bed, a small action that made her grimace. Linda felt a wave of sympathy. It had been a difficult and protracted labour and, at forty-four, the woman was too old to be having another baby; her records showed that her last child was now a teenager.
‘My mouth is dry.’ The woman spoke in an apologetic tone.
Linda poured her a glass of water. ‘Here, drink this.’ She waited, studying her; she was very pale. And so small and frail it was hard to believe she had given birth to a robust baby boy the day before.
Living in the Shadows Description:
It’s 1969 and Mary Schormann is living quietly in Wales with her ex-POW husband, Peter, and her teenage twins Richard and Victoria.
Her niece, Linda Booth, is a nurse – following in the footsteps of Mary – and works in the maternity ward of her local hospital in Lancashire.
At the end of a long night shift, a bullying new father visits the maternity ward and brings back Linda’s darkest nightmares, her terror of being locked in. Who is this man, and why does he scare her so?
There are secrets dating back to the war that still haunt the family, and finding out what lies at their root might be the only way Linda can escape their murderous consequences.
