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Back Before You Were Gone
Chapters (58)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. One
  4. Two
  5. Three
  6. Four
  7. Five
  8. Six
  9. Seven
  10. Eight
  11. Nine
  12. Ten
  13. Eleven
  14. Twelve
  15. Thirteen
  16. Fourteen
  17. Fifteen
  18. Sixteen
  19. Seventeen
  20. Eighteen
  21. Nineteen
  22. Twenty
  23. Twenty-one
  24. Twenty-two
  25. Twenty-three
  26. Twenty-four
  27. Twenty-five
  28. Twenty-six
  29. Twenty-seven
  30. Twenty-eight
  31. Twenty-nine
  32. Thirty
  33. Thirty-one
  34. Thirty-two
  35. Thirty-three
  36. Thirty-four
  37. Thirty-five
  38. Thirty-six
  39. Thirty-seven
  40. Thirty-eight
  41. Thirty-nine
  42. Forty
  43. Forty-one
  44. Forty-two
  45. Forty-three
  46. Forty-four
  47. Forty-five
  48. Forty-six
  49. Forty-seven
  50. Forty-eight
  51. Forty-nine
  52. Fifty
  53. Fifty-one
  54. Acknowledgements
  55. An Eastbourne Murder Mystery
  56. Canelo Crime
  57. About the Author
  58. Also by Sheila Bugler

‘But you’ve got no actual proof that this Annie person might be my daughter?’ Ursula said, when Dee had finished.

‘She had a photo of Kitty and Emer,’ Dee said. ‘And when I went back the next day to speak to her, she was clearly hiding from me.’

‘That doesn’t mean anything,’ Ursula said. ‘If that’s all you’ve got, then I’m sorry, Delilah. I simply cannot believe such a far-fetched story.’

‘I know it sounds ridiculous,’ Dee said, deciding now wasn’t the time to tell Ursula she couldn’t stand to be called by her full name. ‘But I’m telling the truth about everything that happened.’

‘I only have your word for that. I should never have called you. I can see that now. I’d hoped you might be different to your father, that you might actually want to help my family. Clearly, I was wrong. Please don’t try to call me back. I won’t pick up.’

She hung up before Dee could respond. Which was probably just as well, because anything Dee wanted to say right now was probably best said to an empty room. Dee understood it would be upsetting – devastating, in fact – for a mother to learn that a child she’d thought had died over twenty years ago might still be alive. But she couldn’t excuse Ursula’s immediate insistence that everything Dee had said was a lie. As for the way she’d spoken about Dee’s father, the less Dee dwelt on that the better.

Deciding to put the conversation out of her mind for now, Dee refilled her glass and went back out to the deck. Staring into the black night, she listened to the growling waves as they rolled in and out across the shingle, thinking back to that moment inside the flat, staring down at the crumpled body six floors below.

The police hadn’t confirmed the dead man’s identity, but she’d worked it out from the questions they’d asked. He was Michael Holden. Annie’s father. Which explained, at least, why Annie had been visiting him. Dee had given the police the address she had for Annie and she wondered if they’d managed to find her yet. If they hadn’t, how long before Annie even knew her father was dead? Twice since coming home, Dee had tried the mobile number she had for Annie. Both times, she’d got Annie’s voicemail. She’d left a message, telling Annie she needed to speak to her urgently. So far, Annie hadn’t called her back.