Chapters (58)
- Cover
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-one
- Twenty-two
- Twenty-three
- Twenty-four
- Twenty-five
- Twenty-six
- Twenty-seven
- Twenty-eight
- Twenty-nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-one
- Thirty-two
- Thirty-three
- Thirty-four
- Thirty-five
- Thirty-six
- Thirty-seven
- Thirty-eight
- Thirty-nine
- Forty
- Forty-one
- Forty-two
- Forty-three
- Forty-four
- Forty-five
- Forty-six
- Forty-seven
- Forty-eight
- Forty-nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-one
- Acknowledgements
- An Eastbourne Murder Mystery
- Canelo Crime
- About the Author
- Also by Sheila Bugler
‘Yes, because it’s what he told me. How else would I have found out?’
Robert’s face had hardened and when he spoke, his voice was razor sharp, devoid of any trace of kindness. ‘What are you playing at, Emer? There’s something you’re not telling me. You’d better not be playing me for a fool, or there will be consequences.’
‘Is that a threat?’
‘Excuse me?’
‘You heard me.’
‘How dare you.’ Robert slammed his bottle on the marble worktop. ‘You ungrateful little so-and-so. I have done nothing but protect you and love you and support you ever since you and your mother moved in with me. You haven’t always made it easy, but I’ve done my very best. For you to stand here now, in my house, and accuse me of… actually.’ He took a step towards her. It took all her strength to stand her ground. ‘What exactly are you accusing me of, Emer?’
‘Lying.’
‘Get out of my sight.’ Then, when she didn’t move, he roared at her: ‘Now! Get the hell away from me, you hear? I’ve had a long day and the last thing I need right now is to have to deal with your craziness. Your mother’s right, you know. You need help, Emer. Proper, professional help.’
She should have left it, but she was angry now, and she’d never been very good at being sensible when she was angry.
‘You lied,’ she said. ‘Or if you didn’t lie, then the detective you hired wasn’t very good at their job. Because Kitty’s still alive, Robert. That’s why Dee called tonight. To tell me she’d found Kitty.’
‘Bullshit.’
Suddenly, she couldn’t bear the thought of being in the house with him a moment longer. She stepped back into the hallway, grabbed her car keys from the table and ran outside.
‘Emer, don’t you dare run off on me. Come back here this instant.’
She heard his footsteps, hard and fast on the stripped wooden floorboards as he came after her. She pulled open the front door, ran outside and climbed into her car. Fumbling with the keys, she managed to get them into the ignition and switch the engine on, just as he reached the car. She released the handbrake and the car shot forward. The last thing she saw as she turned out of the driveway, was Robert’s silhouette in the rear-view mirror, shaking his fist in the air as he shouted at her to turn around.
Twenty-five
June 1997
The front door was locked. They’d walked around the house, trying to find a way in. Kitty had been thinking of giving up when she noticed one of the kitchen windows was open.
‘Here.’
It was an old sash window and, when she pushed it, nothing happened.
‘Let’s leave it and go home,’ Lucy said. ‘We shouldn’t be here.’