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
‘You’re getting married?’ Kitty said, remembering Emer’s post about her girlfriend proposing to her. ‘Nikki, isn’t it? She looks lovely.’
‘I don’t want to talk about Nikki,’ Emer said abruptly. ‘Not now. I want to talk about you, and why you left.’
‘How did you cope?’ Kitty asked. ‘Growing up with our mother must have been hell.’
‘It wasn’t easy,’ Emer said. ‘But she was never as bad with me as she was with you. And she got a lot better after we moved in with Robert. Oh God. You probably don’t even know, do you? Dad left and Mum remarried Robert O’Brien. Remember him? But I can tell you about that later. First, I want to know what happened.’
The cold clutch of fear when she heard his name. Even now, all these years later.
‘I knew,’ she said, when she could trust herself to speak. ‘I’ve read about Robert’s progress over the years. And seen the photos of the two of them together. I can’t imagine what it must be like, having that man as a stepfather.’
‘He’s been great,’ Emer said. ‘More than great, in fact.’
‘Really?’
‘Yes, really.’ Emer frowned. ‘Why wouldn’t he be?’
‘Because…’ Kitty paused. ‘Sorry. This isn’t easy. They were having an affair. Mum and Mr O’Brien. Did you know that?’
‘I’ve heard rumours,’ Emer said. ‘But even if they were, so what? Ursula’s been a lot better with Robert than she ever was with Dad.’
‘Ursula?’
‘It’s what she likes to be called,’ Emer said. ‘Anyway, that’s not important. I want to know what happened, Kitty. Why did you leave?’
‘They didn’t give me a choice,’ Kitty said. ‘Lucy was dead and I knew who killed her. They told me if I went to the Guards, you’d be next.’
Thirty-nine
June 1997
‘Kitty! I know you’re in there. Open the door and let me in. All I want to do is talk to you. Please, Kitty.’
She squeezed her eyes shut and put her hands over her ears. But she wasn’t able to block out the sound of Lucy’s father banging on the front door, or the desperate edge to his voice as he shouted up to her.