BooksBarbecue
Back Bad Friends
Chapters (59)
  1. Bad Friends
  2. Copyright
  3. Dedication
  4. Epigraph
  5. AFTER: DECEMBER
  6. BEFORE: JUNE
  7. Chapter One
  8. Chapter Two
  9. Chapter Three
  10. Chapter Four
  11. Chapter Five
  12. Chapter Six
  13. Chapter Seven
  14. Chapter Eight
  15. Chapter Nine
  16. Chapter Ten
  17. Chapter Eleven
  18. Chapter Twelve
  19. Chapter Thirteen
  20. Chapter Fourteen
  21. Chapter Fifteen
  22. Chapter Sixteen
  23. Chapter Seventeen
  24. Chapter Eighteen
  25. Chapter Nineteen
  26. Chapter Twenty
  27. Chapter Twenty-One
  28. Chapter Twenty-Two
  29. Chapter Twenty-Three
  30. Chapter Twenty-Four
  31. Chapter Twenty-Five
  32. Chapter Twenty-Six
  33. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  34. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  35. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  36. Chapter Thirty
  37. Chapter Thirty-One
  38. Chapter Thirty-Two
  39. Chapter Thirty-Three
  40. Chapter Thirty-Four
  41. Chapter Thirty-Five
  42. Chapter Thirty-Six
  43. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  44. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  45. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  46. Chapter Forty
  47. Chapter Forty-One
  48. Chapter Forty-Two
  49. Chapter Forty-Three
  50. Chapter Forty-Four
  51. Chapter Forty-Five
  52. Chapter Forty-Six
  53. Chapter Forty-Seven
  54. Chapter Forty-Eight
  55. A CONVERSATION WITH CLAIRE SEEBER
  56. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  57. About the Author
  58. By the same author:
  59. About the Publisher

I don’t know why you ran out of the pub the other day – you looked like you thought I was some kind of axe murderer. It was a genuine mistake, I’d forgotten the keys were there, but you didn’t let me explain. Given the circumstances, I think it’s better we don’t see each other. I’ve collected my boxes now, and my mother will look after Digby when I’m in Glasgow should you want visiting rights.

Alex.

‘Bloody bastard. I don’t want to see you anyway.’ But I was so relieved that Digby was safe I laid my sore head on the desk for a minute.

‘Maggie?’

‘Sorry. It’s nothing. Just that Alex took my dog and I’ve been worried sick.’ From my vantage point I spotted the bottle of vodka on the cabinet. I sat up. ‘But he’s okay. This calls for a celebration, I think. Pass the bottle, Sal.’

She eyed it nervously. ‘Maggie, it’s nine thirty in the morning. Do you really think it’s a good idea?’

‘One of my best.’ I held out my hand.

‘Maggie.’ Sally sat down in front of me, her jolly face serious. ‘I’m starting – I’m worried about you, you know. You seem a bit –’

‘Mad?’ I stood to reach for the vodka.

‘No. Manic, I was going to say.’ A big crease furrowed her forehead.

I unscrewed the lid. ‘I’m fine, honest. I’m in control.’

‘Are you?’ she asked quietly. ‘It’s okay to say you need help, you know, Maggie.’

‘Are you saying I’m acting mad, Sal?’ No one here except Charlie knew about my past, but I was beyond caring now. I looked around for a glass. ‘I’m fine. I promise.’

‘Please don’t drink that, Maggie.’ Sally stood too, holding her hand out for the bottle. ‘I just don’t think it’s a great idea.’

I looked at her and then at the vodka. The clear liquid rolled behind the clear glass and I thought longingly of the burn in the back of my throat as the alcohol hit it. Then I thought about the truth of Sally’s words and the fact that I hadn’t eaten anything this morning and how I needed a clear head, and reluctantly I relinquished the bottle into her hand.

‘All right, Sal. I expect you’re right.’

My new phone beeped. I picked it up.

‘LAST WARNING’ it said. ‘YOU’RE CORNERED.’

‘Oh God.’ I looked at the bottle, now in Sally’s possession. ‘On second thoughts, Sal, I think I might need that after all.’

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Four

Perhaps I was imagining it, but DI Fox seemed to have lost interest in my case.

‘Maggie,’ he half-sighed. ‘How are you doing?’

‘Okay,’ I said. ‘But I just got another text. I think it might be Joseph Blake again.’