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
Based on her social media presence, it seemed that Maeve had found a way to put the past behind her and get on with the rest of her life. Emer knew social media didn’t always give an accurate portrayal of a person’s life, but she couldn’t help feeling Maeve was managing to cope better than she was.
Five
Two months later
The hotel was on the riverfront, with sweeping views of the Thames from the restaurant, where Dee was enjoying a substantial breakfast. She wouldn’t normally stay somewhere this fancy, but she’d been paid well for her ten-minute appearance on the TV programme and had decided to spoil herself.
The last time she’d stayed in London had been with Ed Mitchell, the man Dee had briefly thought she was in love with. Booking this hotel had been a way of proving to herself she could have a good time without him. Unfortunately, every time she let her guard down her mind started to imagine what it would be like if he was here with her. Because Ed would love a place like this, with its views and its good coffee and its fancy breakfast menu. She could just picture him reading the menu, that little frown line between his eyes while he tried to choose between Eggs Benedict and a Full English.
Thankfully, before she got to the bit in her daydream where they went back upstairs after finishing their breakfast, Dee’s phone started to ring. The caller was Louise, Dee’s cousin on her mother’s side of the family. The only person who called Dee this early.
‘How was it?’ Louise asked. ‘Did they tell you when the programme will be aired? The kids are so excited their auntie is going to be on TV. They think this means you’re famous.’
‘I hope you’ve set them straight then,’ Dee said.
‘What about Emer? Did you meet her? What’s she like?’
‘Yes, I met her,’ Dee said, ‘and she seems very nice.’
‘Nice?’ Louise snorted. ‘So you didn’t like her then.’
‘That’s not what I said.’
Dee looked out the window at the river and the people hurrying along the waterfront. So many people. She thought of the view from her house on the beach in Eastbourne. An uninterrupted stretch of shingle, sea and sky. She was missing it already. Strange to think she’d spent so many years living here, in the city, not ever planning to leave. Now, she couldn’t imagine how she’d ever lived so long in this overcrowded metropolis.
‘So what was it then?’ Louise said.
‘It’s complicated,’ Dee said. ‘I’ll tell you about it when I see you. Any chance you’re free for a coffee or a walk over the next few days?’