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
‘I’m going to miss all this,’ Ella said, gesturing at the beach.
‘No you won’t,’ Dee said. ‘Canada’s meant to be stunning, isn’t it?’
‘I guess. But we’ll be living in the city, so we won’t wake up to this view every morning.’
‘Are you okay about the move?’
It hadn’t occurred to Dee, until now, that moving to Canada might not be something Ella wanted.
‘I am now,’ Ella said. ‘I didn’t want to move, at first. You know how much I love living here. But now I’ve got used to the idea, I’m excited.’
‘Of course you are. It’s a wonderful opportunity. And God knows you deserve a fresh start after everything you’ve been through.’
‘There are days I don’t think I deserve anything,’ Ella said.
Dee knew she was referring to the incident twelve years earlier that had driven Ella to run from her old life, turning up here in Eastbourne pretending to be someone else. But the person she’d been running from had found her eventually, with near-fatal consequences for Ella and Jake.
‘You’ll continue with your counselling when you move?’ Dee asked.
‘Definitely. Neil – that’s who I see at the moment – he’s given me some recommendations. I’m not too worried about that.’
‘So what are you worried about?’
‘How I’m going to cope without you. I still can’t believe we won’t be able to see each other whenever we feel like it. I’m going to miss you so much, Dee.’
‘I’ll miss you, too.’ Understatement of the bloody year. Dee’s heart already felt shredded, and they hadn’t even gone yet. ‘But we’ve got Skype and FaceTime. And I’m already planning my first visit. I’ll probably visit so much you’ll be sick of seeing me.’
‘Never.’ Ella smiled.
She looked like she wanted to say more, but Dee cut her off. Unable to bear it.
‘Will you work when you’re there?’
‘At some point I’d like to get back to my music, maybe do a Masters. But my priority at the beginning will be getting us all settled.’
On the table, Dee’s mobile started ringing.
‘Take it if you want to,’ Ella said. ‘You know I won’t mind.’
‘It’s Leonard,’ Dee said, diverting the call. ‘I left him a message earlier because there’s something I need to speak to him about. But actually, I’d like to pick your brains first. If you don’t mind?’
‘Anything that will take my mind off packing,’ Ella said. ‘I’m all ears.’
Dee told Ella everything that had happened with Emer, starting with their first meeting in Gordon’s Wine Bar, right up to her visit to Emer’s workplace earlier that day.
‘So now I’m thinking, what if Emer was right all along?’ Dee said.