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
‘We could have another pot of coffee. I know you said you don’t have any biscuits but, by my reckoning, it’s almost lunch. Maybe you could whip up a round of sandwiches while you’re at it?’
She should tell him to get lost and make his own bloody sandwiches. Except now he was smiling and – God help her and forgive her – Dee found herself smiling right back at him.
Thirty-seven
Emer stood on the Eastbourne seafront, her back to the ocean, staring at the façade of the Cavendish Hotel. Her sister was in there. Just a few metres from where Emer stood. Ever since getting the phone call earlier today, it was all she’d been able to think about. She should have felt vindicated for all those years when she’d refused to believe Kitty had died. Instead, she felt nothing but a profound sadness for the years they’d lost and would never get back.
Kitty had made it clear she’d only meet Emer if she came by herself. So Emer had lied to Maeve and told her she was going to meet Dee. Luckily, Maeve was happy for Emer to do that alone. Emer had left her at the hotel in Polegate and taken the train to Eastbourne town centre. From there, it was only a ten-minute walk through the town to this hotel, where Kitty had said she’d be waiting for her.
She crossed the road, and walked up the steps into the hotel lobby. Groups of people sat on the sofas and armchairs scattered around the large space. Emer scanned the faces, searching for Kitty. There was no one who looked like the woman she’d seen on the train. She looked around again, searching more intently, panicking now because Kitty wasn’t here. Which meant she’d changed her mind and wasn’t going to turn up. Or something had happened to her in the two hours between speaking to Emer on the phone and now. Or…
‘Emer!’
Kitty’s voice. Not here in the lobby. Looking down at her from the staircase that curved up through the centre of the hotel. Emer’s breath caught in her throat. For a moment, she didn’t think she could go through with it. The urge to turn around and run away was surprisingly powerful. She didn’t understand. This was what she’d wanted, wasn’t it?
And then, as if she had no control over her actions, she was walking towards her sister, her vision blurring as she started to cry. Tears pouring down her face as she climbed the stairs, moving faster now, taking the steps two a time, running towards her past.
‘Emer. Oh Emer.’
Kitty grabbed her and was hugging her, holding her tight as she kissed her face over and over.
‘Is it really you?’ Emer managed, between sobs. ‘Is it you, Kitty?’