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
The girls were in a garden. A scrap of concrete, edged with a ragged line of yellowed grass. Sun blasting off a piece of rusty metal in the background. But it wasn’t the sun or the metal or the grass that had grabbed Dee’s attention. It was the girls. She’d seen them before. In the photo she still had on her laptop, showing Emer and Kitty when they were younger. The month before Kitty disappeared from a beach in the west of Ireland one hot summer’s day in 1997.
Twenty-one
‘What are you doing?’
Fiona’s voice, behind her, made Dee jump.
‘I was admiring this collage.’ She didn’t turn around, certain her face would give her away. She pointed at the photo of the two girls. ‘This photo, in particular, caught my eye. I didn’t realise Annie had a sister.’
‘She doesn’t,’ Fiona said. ‘That’s some school friend. I’m afraid I can’t even remember the girl’s name now. The family moved soon after that photo was taken. We lost touch with them after that.’
‘Such a shame,’ Dee said. She turned around, forcing a smile that wasn’t reciprocated. ‘They really do look alike, don’t they?’
‘We need to get your painting into the car,’ Fiona said, ignoring the question. ‘I’ve got to be somewhere else.’
Dee didn’t like the way Fiona was staring at her, and felt a flicker of fear as she realised they were alone in the house.
‘After you.’ Fiona pressed her body against the wall, gesturing for Dee to go down the stairs ahead of her. Dee hesitated, before doing as she was told. She descended quickly, tense as she waited for Fiona to shove her hand into Dee’s back and push her. Nothing happened, but by the time she reached the bottom of the stairs, Dee was shaking.
‘We need to hurry,’ Fiona said. ‘I didn’t realise the time. I’ve got to get back home.’
‘I thought you were staying for a few days,’ Dee said. ‘Isn’t that what you told me?’
‘You misunderstood. Today’s my last day. I had to wait for you to arrive but now I really need to go.’
‘Remind me where home is?’ Dee said, feeling calmer now she was back on the ground floor.
‘Sussex.’
Dee started to say something about that being a coincidence because she was from Sussex too, but Fiona wasn’t listening. She’d walked into the sitting room and was trying to lift Dee’s painting by herself.
‘Hang on,’ Dee said. ‘Let me give you a hand.’
Together, they carried the painting outside to the car and, with a bit of difficulty, managed to manoeuvre it until it was lying against the back seats.
‘Right,’ Fiona said. ‘That’s all done. Safe journey home.’
She turned to go, but Dee called her back.