Free All Fall Down: A gripping psychological thriller with a twist that will take your breath away by Tom Bale Page A

play by ‘Dad’s’ rules. Pretty soon it would only be Evan who mattered to him.
    Oh God, Evan. . .
    Another problem.

    A mber and Paige had messaged to see if she wanted to meet up. Not really , was the honest answer. But she had nothing better to do.
    Once she was safely out of sight from home, she took out the cigarettes and lighter she kept stashed in her room. She wasn’t that fussed about smoking, but knew it helped her fit in. On Monday nearly everyone had been passing smokes around, and some of them shared a joint. Georgia had so far steered clear of drugs, for reasons she couldn’t have explained to anyone from school.
    Her past life, prior to adoption, was a closely guarded secret. Georgia had always feared the reaction from BitchWorld, if they knew the truth, but seeing how impressed they were when she described the man dying in the garden, she had begun to reconsider. Her own story was just as dramatic as that – maybe more so.
    The centre of Petersfield was quiet, probably because of the rain showers. She’d once heard it said that the main square looked like something out of Charles Dickens. For most kids her age that meant deadly dull, but Georgia secretly thought it was lovely. Compared to where she came from, it was paradise.
    Amber and Paige were waiting by the big statue, both staring down at their phones. They wore the same type of outfits as her, black leggings and sleeveless tops, but to Georgia’s eye they looked far better in them. Wendy was always insisting that Georgia was slim – and in the eyes of a middle-aged woman she probably was – but put her next to these two and she looked wide and lumpy, misshapen.
    Georgia saw the instant they spotted her, but pretended they hadn’t. Something was said, and sly glances exchanged. Georgia felt her insides knotting up.
    In one sense she understood how stupid it was to worry what these clueless bitches thought – and physically she had no fear of them at all. The problem was the influence they had over Georgia’s social status. Ridiculous that these things mattered, but they did. They really did.
    Their greetings were friendly enough, though Georgia stayed wary. The sleepover had gone okay, but only because Paige hadn’t been there. Put her together with Amber and you got a kind of chemical reaction: two basically safe substances suddenly became dangerous.
    Paige suggested they go to the bakery café across the road. Georgia offered the half-finished cigarette round but they wrinkled their noses, like it would be unclean to share anything of hers.
    The café was busy, but they managed to find a table against the side wall. Georgia’s stomach rumbled at the sight of cakes and pastries. She wanted a doughnut but knew the other two would be straight on their phones, Instagramming pictures of Georgia ‘pigging out’. They ordered skinny lattes, so Georgia did the same.
    ‘Are the cops still at your house?’ Paige asked, and Georgia thought: Here we go .
    ‘Not really,’ she said. ‘It was only ever a bit of the garden that he was in.’
    ‘Do they know who he is yet?’
    Georgia shrugged. ‘Don’t think so.’
    Amber said, ‘He was all sliced up, that’s what my sister reckons. By devil worshippers. They were cutting pieces off him and everything.’
    ‘I wonder if they ate them?’ Paige said, just as the waitress brought the drinks.
    ‘Ugh, gross!’ Amber said, but she was giggling, too.
    ‘There was a case like that in Germany.’ Georgia felt she had to contribute. ‘This guy had a fantasy about being killed and eaten. He found someone who agreed to do it, only first they both ate bits of him before he was de—’ She broke off. ‘What?’
    With a shudder of distaste, Paige said, ‘TMI, Georgia.’
    ‘ Way too much.’ Amber took a sip of coffee and used her tongue to remove the foam moustache. ‘So, imagine if it’s, like, someone you know that did it. Because it could be.’
    Georgia sat back. ‘It’s nothing to do