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Back Dead Horse Gap Save as PDF
Chapters (58)
  1. COVER PAGE
  2. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  3. DEDICATION
  4. Prologue
  5. One
  6. Two
  7. Three
  8. Four
  9. Five
  10. Six
  11. Seven
  12. Eight
  13. Nine
  14. Ten
  15. Eleven
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Sixteen
  21. Seventeen
  22. Eighteen
  23. Nineteen
  24. Twenty
  25. Twenty-one
  26. Twenty-two
  27. Twenty-three
  28. Twenty-four
  29. Twenty-five
  30. Twenty-six
  31. Twenty-seven
  32. Twenty-eight
  33. Twenty-nine
  34. Thirty
  35. Thirty-one
  36. Thirty-two
  37. Thirty-three
  38. Thirty-four
  39. Thirty-five
  40. Thirty-six
  41. Thirty-seven
  42. Thirty-eight
  43. Thirty-nine
  44. Forty
  45. Forty-one
  46. Forty-two
  47. Forty-three
  48. Forty-four
  49. Forty-five
  50. Forty-six
  51. Forty-seven
  52. Forty-eight
  53. Forty-nine
  54. Fifty
  55. Fifty-one
  56. Fifty-two
  57. Fifty-three
  58. Acknowledgements

Eva looked up from where she was rocking Poppy to sleep. ‘I’m sorry about the late dinner, Pierce—sometimes we’ll get a group that want to sit in here all night.’

‘Don’t apologise, Eva, I’ve got everything I need right here,’ he said, smiling at Vanessa.

Reaching across the table, he topped up Flowers’ and Sterling’s glasses. He was beginning to enjoy himself, but he knew he wouldn’t fully relax until Heidi’s court appearance the next day.

section break

Later, when Sterling and Flowers had left and the lodge was silent, Ryder took out the print Flowers had given him. ‘Look what Daisy bought us,’ he said, handing it to Vanessa as she came out of the bathroom. ‘I think it’s a farewell gift.’

‘That’s Dead Horse Gap,’ she said, looking down at it. ‘It’s lovely, and so thoughtful of him. This case seems to have left its mark on all of you.’

Ryder nodded. ‘Family trauma. It’s the worst.’

Vanessa leaned over and put the print on the bedside table, and Ryder stretched out on the bed.

‘It’s such a sad situation,’ she said, lying down beside him and resting her head on his shoulder. ‘The hopelessness Heidi must have felt, and the guilt the brothers are going to have to live with.’

‘Yeah. Dan and Ethan Lorrimer always acted in what they thought was the family’s best interests. But today, I saw two broken men.’ Ryder closed his eyes briefly. ‘Not for one second could they have imagined that when they finally sold the property, one of their siblings would be dead, and the other in prison for his murder.’

‘No, they would have thought their worries would all be over. It’s so horrible,’ she said.

Ryder sighed. ‘I feel for them, but I’m having trouble dredging up the smallest amount of sympathy for Heidi, because she would have killed Sterling yesterday if she could have.’

Vanessa raised her head and looked down at him. ‘I know how worried you’ve been about her, but she’s safe now.’

Ryder tightened his arms around her, inhaling her perfume as she laid her head on his shoulder again. ‘Promise me, that if I’m remote, or preoccupied, or crazy busy, or anything that stops you getting through to me, just remind me of this case. What happened to the Lorrimers was preventable. It’s a tragic example of how important communication is.’

‘I agree.’

‘You know how I often say the courses they make us do at work are generally pretty useless?’

Vanessa chuckled. ‘Yes.’