Violation

by Cath Staincliffe

Genres: Short Stories

Synopsis

A powerful account of how one family, grieving for the loss of their daughter, is hounded then haunted by gross media intrusion. When teenager Cassie Mallion goes missing one hot summer's day in the Lake District her family find themselves in the midst of a media feeding frenzy. Years later as the extent of illegal media activity emerges they must face fresh grief. This ebook short also includes an extended extract from Cath Staincliffe's acclaimed novel, The Kindest Thing. Cover photograph: Valentino Sani/Trevillion

Release date: September 15, 2011

Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group

Print pages: 160

Sample

VIOLATION

It was hot that summer. Hot and dry, even here in the Lakes. The ground parched and the streams drying up and the heat haze stretched like gauze over everything.

The summer we lost Cassie.

The town was packed, tourists thronging the streets, stuffed into the restaurants and ice cream parlours, queuing for boat trips. It usually is busy, even in the rain, but the fine weather
brought extra day-trippers on top of the people who had booked for a week or two. Then there were the second-home owners who recreated the British house party tradition with their rotating groups
of visitors, step-families and friends. Coming and going up the M1 from London, 4x4s stuffed to the gills with towels and dogs and children, mountain bikes or kayaks on the roof. The heat made
people cranky, short tempered: sudden retorts, shrill squabbles and children’s cries pierced the air and carried, no rain to dampen them.

Cassie was eighteen. She was working in The Grantley, the hotel on the road north out of town, waitressing and working behind the bar. Saving what she could for her move to uni in Leeds that
September. She had an offer to study events management as long as she got the grades and she was confident she would.

Matthew teased her about it: three years’ training to be a party planner. He’s a bit of a dinosaur sometimes. Expects things to be the same as in our day, when most degrees were in
academic subjects. I was more pragmatic if a little sarcastic about it, ‘She’s so disorganised – anything that helps her plan can only be an improvement.’

That was what our last words were about, mine and Cassie’s, a stupid row over the state . . .