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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

‘Robert paid for us to go on holiday,’ Kitty said. ‘That day, when Mum took us to the beach, Dad was hiding in the dunes, waiting for me. Mum had already told me what to do. I was to start a row with you and pretend to be angry. Then I had to wander off by myself. When no one was looking, I had to take off my shorts and let them drift into the water. After I’d done that, I ran back up the dunes to where Dad was hiding. We sneaked into the hotel through a fire escape at the back of the building. No one saw us. Then I hid in their room. No one even thought to search the room. Isn’t that remarkable? They all believed our mother that I’d gone into the water and been pulled out by the current. When it was time to go, I knew I couldn’t leave without seeing you one last time. I came to say goodbye, do you remember?’

‘Of course I remember,’ Emer said. ‘It’s why I was never able to believe you’d died. I thought it was my fault. We’d had a row and you went to a different part of the beach. When they told me you’d drowned, I blamed myself.’

‘But the row was my fault,’ Kitty said. ‘Don’t you remember? I’m sorry, Emer. I was only doing what Mum had told me to.’

The relief was overwhelming. And so was the rage that followed. All these years, her mother and Robert had convinced Emer it was her fault Kitty had drowned that day on the beach.

‘We left the hotel in the middle of the night,’ Kitty continued. ‘Out through the fire escape again. We drove to some town – I can’t remember what it was called – and Uncle Frank was there, waiting for us. Dad told me Frank was his brother and he was going to look after me. I didn’t want to go. I was terrified, but Dad insisted. So I got into the car with Uncle Frank and we drove to Belfast, where we got the ferry to Liverpool. From there, we drove to Uncle Frank’s home in Eastbourne.’

‘Your father’s brother was a friend of mine,’ Fiona said, picking up the story. ‘Somehow, Eamon persuaded Frank that Kitty’s life was in danger. Together they came up with a plan for keeping her safe. Michael and I weren’t able to have children of our own. When Frank asked us to help, it felt like a gift. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t easy taking on a traumatised child, but it was worth it.’ Fiona smiled at Kitty with such genuine love, Emer felt a sudden, unexpected pang of jealousy. ‘She was the best thing that ever happened to us.’