The Uninvited

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throws open the door.‘Thanks.’ As I start towelling my hair,my head begins to buzz with what might bejoy.She comes and sits opposite me, poursout our drinks. Whisky. She hands me agenerous glass. ‘Well I’ll be honest withyou, Hesketh. Things haven’t been easywith Freddy.’ She takes a big gulp andflushes. I see that this must represent abetrayal. I am glad. ‘He’s confused,inevitably.’ I remember Kaitlin’s text: youhave left Freddy very confused. ‘I’m notkidding myself. I can’t afford to in my job.I want to do what’s right. The thing is, thething I wanted to discuss with you is,well . . . The day before yesterday he—’She breaks off and takes another bigswig. Something’s bothering her. And she
seems slightly drunk. Did she have anotherdrink after I left the bar? An image hurtlesback to me: Freddy aiming his catapult atKaitlin’s heart. And its signature noise:zoooshhh.‘Has he been violent?’ My ownquestion startles me.Her face reddens. Her neck too. Thenecklace glows white against it. ‘How didyou know?’I shrug. ‘A guess. I’ve barely spoken tohim since I moved out. What did he do?’‘He attacked a teacher. He threw a flintat her in the playground. She was badlyhurt. It was . . . pretty shocking. Fivestitches.’As she speaks, I find myself staring ather necklace again. Those shapes: bones.Vertebrae. Knuckles. Something like that.
Page 3 and 4:
For Clare Blatchford ReesAn inspira
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CONTENTSPrologueChapter 1Chapter 2C
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PROLOGUEMass hysterical outbreaks r
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she’d put it to her father’s fa
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pewter glint of the Atlantic. I’d
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Taiwan working flat out on the sabo
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The TV showed a semi-detached house
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existence. Ever since the High Ener
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stepson aiming his catapult at anot
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attracted you to Hesketh when you f
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the package called Hesketh Lock and
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some of the ‘normal social graces
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of the country, or even abroad, to
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evidence of dark forces: demons, sh
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selling tofu, lychees, starfruit, s
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cross-culture specialist, who has a
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aid triggered further investigation
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several hours, kept awake by coffee
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The next morning I was at the timbe
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though my Chinese was unfortunately
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computer. It all added up, and he a
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Martin Yeh sighed. ‘If I had been
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police asked me the same thing. And
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The loading of the trunks and the s
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His face mask hid his features. I
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drying up from the wood dust.‘The
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He shook his head. ‘It’s bad. L
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the concrete prairie. I like to be
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and paint-colour charts (here I use
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do what they want.’ As he spoke,
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He took a deep breath. ‘The spiri
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they are all dead. But they are ali
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Chen seemed absorbed in his ownthou
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the city. Up here, we were right on
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shaking the black-stemmed bamboos a
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with gold. Hell notes. Each leaf of
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leg. I would have bent it to form a
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The laugh came again. ‘Sure, I wi
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settled it on the marble slab betwe
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‘I made it,’ he said. ‘That
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‘Do you fear that there will be a
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sandalwood. I recognised it instant
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it from me. I need to know why.’
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should not ask.’‘Later she regr
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too.’ I meant it.‘We will say g
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As the taxi drove off, I looked bac
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oof had lost a few tiles, and a dea
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starting these miniature contained
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the surface in tiny bubbles likecha
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‘I know your mum has already talk
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to do. So I cleaned it up. A few mi
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toothpaste.Sometimes we pretended w
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Taiwan whistle-blower?’Sunny Chen
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said? Sunny Chen. Your factory-mana
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don’t feel anything.But I do feel
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feelings: they are a component of t
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‘Ashok. Just tell me.’‘Er, Je
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She is generally considered to beex
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here and there, white blobs in a mu
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publicity generated by a disgruntle
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The French term un acte manquédesc
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CHAPTER 3Sometime at the end of the
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Taiwan report. Chen’s suicide mea
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visible behind his left ear. I don
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the matter in hand, so I say, ‘I
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applied it. Last Christmas he sent
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doodling a bunch of amoeba fucking,
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over.’I was doing a tricky blintz
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stuck through their combs where the
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Station in Copenhagen, where I chan
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The morning after my arrival in Sto
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confused.’‘Is there no explanat
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not Japanese and nor is Lars Axel,
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If I am on to something, my blood f
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invent, and get messy. He is a fan
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choose it a name.’ He is very kee
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woodlouses.’ His voice has change
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field of study and secondly because
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dog. But she would like one. I ask
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established a definitive momentum m
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‘No, but I’d like to,’ I tell
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interrupted sex with the demographe
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her smile, and led to her questioni
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applying for. She told me she wante
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By now I have studied Sverige Banke
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CHAPTER 4When Ashok skypes me in th
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‘Swiss-German. Attending a UNconf
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a state of enlightenment. Was thiss
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Svensson is probably in her mid-fif
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violent. Never. He’s become anoth
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happened at the bank.’‘So sit d
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‘The fucking . . . creature. It
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doctor buzzes an alarm. ‘You fuck
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follow. Outside, others are chasing
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on his mobile phone. Within seconds
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Svensson and what followed. When I
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combination with other things, have
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get it over with.’ They look at e
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else the image freezes. So I say,
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Then I text Ashok asking for thedim
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Men attacking institutions that the
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fingers across the bicep, and a thu
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gum in his mouth. Numerous studies
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neurophysiology of self-deception.
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fears which dominated the lives of
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they had done.The Venn diagram in m
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significance, on some level. ‘Som
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would be catastrophic for farming -
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‘Well, enjoy the rest of your lif
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‘And what kind of fucked-up weird
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He’ll shout, ‘Jesus Christ, Hes
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she once claimed to find endearing.
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the car and we put the dead body in
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grow and then we eat the plants,’
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is Afghan, so I try out a few words
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day here, so at 8am local time I co
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only travel in one direction. But n
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shown that there are dimensions tha
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At 10.30 I am heading upwards in a
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the rest are erecting and dismantli
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ig muscled arm to show me ‘the wo
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lady, Halla. Very traditional. Can
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they feature as recent additions to
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overloaded now. I rock harder and h
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child he stops licking his arm, he
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Later, when I am being interrogated
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him. I didn’t push him.’ I say
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matter as you’ll be dead. But som
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e shouting.I don’t usually shout.
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construction elevator. Its slow sha
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against my faith. And it’s not in
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and he crumbled something into it.
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with three daughters. One said she
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de Vries then Mazoor could solve th
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it seemed. And I heard her too. She
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observes them, then looks up at me.
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To the mother-root, when they haveb
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epresentations are highly accurate.
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speculations it has led to.‘I bel
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honeybee. Serviced by a million dro
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one. Quite rare, though it’s on t
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This day has not been a good one so
Page 287 and 288: comes to escort me back to my hotel
Page 289 and 290: CHAPTER 6There is an explanation fo
Page 291 and 292: At the time though, there was nocon
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Page 297 and 298: Is she beautiful? Most of my maleco
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Page 303 and 304: glass as I speak.‘With Chen it’
Page 305 and 306: uprising. And there are other thing
Page 307 and 308: together?’I grab a napkin and dra
Page 309 and 310: Care Units for them. Drafted an arm
Page 311 and 312: A classic distancing technique. You
Page 313 and 314: ‘A small figure,’ I say. ‘Chi
Page 315 and 316: esults I’m waiting on. It may mea
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Page 321 and 322: Professor Whybray and Naomi Benjami
Page 323 and 324: ‘Superstition was part of Hesketh
Page 325 and 326: Whybray.‘The girl,’ I say. ‘I
Page 327 and 328: goodbye and Stephanie presses End C
Page 329 and 330: their sudden, intense camaraderie a
Page 331 and 332: I’m overloaded. I stand and pick
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Page 335 and 336: that happen. Kaitlin’s wrong to s
Page 337: strain to hear it. ‘Don’t think
Page 341 and 342: No. I am not OK.I clear my throat.
Page 343 and 344: it. The hand-print’s too small to
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Page 347 and 348: CHAPTER 8Kaitlin’s house, built i
Page 349 and 350: carry him through the narrow entran
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Page 355 and 356: ‘I say, ond som jooz. Ploz.’A m
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Page 359 and 360: tissue, but he wriggles out of her
Page 361 and 362: ‘What do you mean, Freddy?’ ask
Page 363 and 364: Three ways to die. ‘Except there
Page 365 and 366: He shrugs. ‘You saw the girl with
Page 367 and 368: Freddy K?’He wipes his nose on hi
Page 369 and 370: ago. But she is still beautiful and
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Page 373 and 374: Freddy and Hesketh both want to see
Page 375 and 376: ottle of Australian Shiraz from the
Page 377 and 378: huge. It’ll expand and peak. In w
Page 379 and 380: has flown up around her neck, distu
Page 381 and 382: I go to the window I see only one p
Page 383 and 384: make you spaghetti. Out in the kitc
Page 385 and 386: Stephanie says, ‘My sister says i
Page 387 and 388: him into another mood. He pulls awa
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desert. Is that what he wants? Is h
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Care Unit. In the meantime there’
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on all children under twelve in the
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At five, Stephanie calls from the h
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plasticine and cracked clay and a f
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‘Yep?’‘It was an accident. No
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Freddy is a collector, and tins are
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world? Somewhere out there, Freddy
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come in and hold the fort? Ashok’
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youngest two killed him.’So Amit
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pouring and stirring are soothing -
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air can be bad for you!’‘No. Ai
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engaged. The net connection hasdisa
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lind!’ he calls after me as I lea
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Professor Whybray - but the line’
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nuts. I don’t know where he got h
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‘Hesketh.’ That reedy, throaty
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swayed by the culture.’‘You onc
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‘Secondary hysteria?’ Is that w
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‘Well the human extinction lobby
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anomalies. ‘Any eye infections am
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living in the cottage on the island
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‘What do you mean, bones?’I rec
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options to choose from on the BBC
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anomalies, this information is unli
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calls again. She sounds exhausted,
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Freddy down,’ I say. ‘You need
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changes often occur in patients who
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information it contains.I’d antic
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of denial, anger, bargaining, depre
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did. In a manner of speaking.’ I
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crap they wanted. There’s no way
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intrigued me.If Freddy and I were g
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the vast orange ziggurat of Sainsbu
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taller, but not much older. Ten per
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signal again. The sign of the eye.
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camera angled at us from the corner
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left with a glass door, through whi
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you can join the others. OK?’‘Y
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telling if it’s peaked. And there
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where he waves at the three supervi
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‘Glossolalia?’‘Except that I
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eaching in his pocket. ‘Phone cal
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I ask, ‘Do you have children?’S
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ecame intimate, we would have to ha
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emarkable,’ says Professor Whybra
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I pull up a seat and glance through
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eyes.’I jump up. ‘That fits!’
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world with no adults, no toilets, n
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answer. ‘He’s still Freddy. His
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from life itself. If I am ‘waterp
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CHAPTER 11The practical side of loo
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on his head. ‘Freddy K. Mum’s i
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next to the basin. ‘We were talki
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eyes and it is as if the clock has
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means?’I watch him in the rear-vi
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for a place to settle. Her hair is
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Stephanie together, the images I co
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Stephanie. ‘Thank you, Hesketh.
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she calls after me: ‘I heard toda
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CHAPTER 12‘It was a disgrace,’
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‘believed to be the work of anarc
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a distaste for it. Contempt, even.
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call it the White Death.’ The pro
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e born and then you made us live li
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hand on my shoulder. ‘Good work,
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the unexpected. And then adapt. It
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few, Hesketh. Hold on to that.’We
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‘Hey!’ calls a male voice. I gl
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lessing.’As we approach, a couple
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two worlds can occupy the same spac
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Vries jumped. I say urgently, ‘Pr
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gently tries to prise her off. But
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donning face masks. I call out a br
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‘The reason for that is that supe
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I slide some origami paper from the
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global economy, bang goes capitalis
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its knees. You heard about the arre
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heading back to the Stone Age. At l
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Ashok waves him into a seat and ask
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what Svensson’s autopsy showed. I
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They’re children for ever, like P
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‘Hesketh,’ she says evenly, ‘
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I give the short version.‘So I an
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out what impact this has on our oth
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‘Stop,’ I say. ‘This is now.
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and started writing very fast. So I
Page 563 and 564:
Professor Whybray drops his noteboo
Page 565 and 566:
CHAPTER 14Kaitlin Kalifakidis is de
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Kawasaki rose in an envelope marked
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forced into a wide detour: a burst
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since she organised this event, she
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While the others head for the group
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Mazoor. Mrs Helena Whybray’s. She
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My belief is that when you die, tha
Page 579 and 580:
Freddy starts clicking his tongue.G
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‘No,’ he whispers. Then he stan
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nodding at the door. ‘Go now.’A
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has no power in it. My groin is thu
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‘Where are you?’ I keep my voic
Page 589 and 590:
wearing a necklace like the one Fre
Page 591 and 592:
with no sign of human life. I can i
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shouts, violent elbowing, shoving a
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comprising ten or so kids. Then the
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Then the world shrinks to a pinpric
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which forms a little tent. I don’
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the pillows behind my head.My mouth
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unexplained anomaly of the kidneys.
Page 605 and 606:
CHAPTER 15The next morning I wake i
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pointing upward. ‘That’s lasagn
Page 609 and 610:
another soldier on guard. I show hi
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een cordoned off. Some soldiers are
Page 613 and 614:
notebook and then find Naomi.‘How
Page 615 and 616:
hand-prints in human blood.Freddy i
Page 617 and 618:
The door has a small reinforcedwind
Page 619 and 620:
‘Because there’s one in here.
Page 621 and 622:
She puts a hand on my shoulder.‘Y
Page 623 and 624:
Freddy in the car again. They haves
Page 625 and 626:
of human history has begun.
Page 627 and 628:
after a storm. We’d walk beyond t
Page 629 and 630:
Svensson. Here’s where I’ll exp
Page 631 and 632:
attention - or seemed to, until I s
Page 633 and 634:
pressed him further. Why I kept dig
Page 635 and 636:
the island, he told me. All native
Page 637 and 638:
to me daily, sometimes hourly. And
Page 639 and 640:
There is a lot more in this vein. M
Page 641 and 642:
We are a species in crisis: a speci
Page 643 and 644:
the one I made for Sunny Chen. Irem
Page 645 and 646:
what happens next, Freddy?’ He do
Page 647 and 648:
eality.Once upon a time the Earth w
Page 649 and 650:
‘Stop. It means we want you to st
Page 651 and 652:
think. They’ve come back to stop
Page 653 and 654:
swivelling in my chair and watching
Page 655 and 656:
new course is set. You know that,He
Page 657 and 658:
metaphysics of being. I am not a gr
Page 659 and 660:
you open them out, their intended s
Page 661 and 662:
encouragement.My thanks also go to
Page 663 and 664:
for the Orange Prize for Fiction an
Page 665 and 666:
Also Available by Liz JensenThe Rap
Page 667 and 668:
The Ninth Life of LouisDraxNine-yea
Page 669 and 670:
My Dirty Little Book ofStolen TimeI
Page 671 and 672:
War Crimes for theHomeLonglisted fo
Page 673 and 674:
Click for more information
Page 675 and 676:
a world of compulsive consumption,
Page 677 and 678:
Since the year all British women be
Page 679 and 680:
sister for backup, Hazel Sugden, fo
Page 681:
SydneyA CIP catalogue record for th
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The Uninvited

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