Communion Town (29 page)

She fed the cats and ate some bread and cheese standing at the counter. Wanting to feel that she was equipping herself for a journey, she dug out an old pair of boots from the back of the bedroom wardrobe. They had once been favourites and their insides were still shaped to her feet. As the rooms darkened, early evening light came up in the windows and faded from blue to grey, offering a last view of the heath and the rooftops. She took the pocket street atlas from the drawer of the hall table, then changed her mind and put it back. She buttoned her coat, and, after consideration, left a lamp on in the hall. Then she locked the house and walked out into the city.

Acknowledgements

All my love and thanks to Caoileann, always.

For their endless help and support, deep thanks to my parents Dan and Jenny, my brothers James and Andrew, Jane Anderson and Ronan Crowley.

Thank you to Deborah and Windsor Chorlton, Jim and Bernie Curry, Deborah Friedell, Marianne Macdonald, Laurie Maguire, Matthew Reynolds, Mark Richards and Peter Straus.

Copyright

First published in Great Britain in 2012 by
Fourth Estate
An imprint of HarperCollins
Publishers
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London W6 8JB
www.4thestate.co.uk

Copyright © Sam Thompson 2012

1

The right of Sam Thompson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988

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

ISBN 978-0-00-745476-1
Epub Edition © MAY 2012 ISBN: 9780007454785
Epub Version 1

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