BooksBarbecue
Back Familiar Strangers Save as PDF
Chapters (71)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Prologue
  4. Chapter One
  5. Chapter Two
  6. Chapter Three
  7. Chapter Four
  8. Chapter Five
  9. Chapter Six
  10. Chapter Seven
  11. Chapter Eight
  12. Chapter Nine
  13. Chapter Ten
  14. Chapter Eleven
  15. Chapter Twelve
  16. Chapter Thirteen
  17. Chapter Fourteen
  18. Chapter Fifteen
  19. Chapter Sixteen
  20. Chapter Seventeen
  21. Chapter Eighteen
  22. Chapter Nineteen
  23. Chapter Twenty
  24. Chapter Twenty-One
  25. Chapter Twenty-Two
  26. Chapter Twenty-Three
  27. Chapter Twenty-Four
  28. Chapter Twenty-Five
  29. Chapter Twenty-Six
  30. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  31. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  32. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  33. Chapter Thirty
  34. Chapter Thirty-One
  35. Chapter Thirty-Two
  36. Chapter Thirty-Three
  37. Chapter Thirty-Four
  38. Chapter Thirty-Five
  39. Chapter Thirty-Six
  40. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  41. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  42. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  43. Chapter Forty
  44. Chapter Forty-One
  45. Chapter Forty-Two
  46. Chapter Forty-Three
  47. Chapter Forty-Four
  48. Chapter Forty-Five
  49. Chapter Forty-Six
  50. Chapter Forty-Seven
  51. Chapter Forty-Eight
  52. Chapter Forty-Nine
  53. Chapter Fifty
  54. Chapter Fifty-One
  55. Chapter Fifty-Two
  56. Chapter Fifty-Three
  57. Chapter Fifty-Four
  58. Chapter Fifty-Five
  59. Chapter Fifty-Six
  60. Chapter Fifty-Seven
  61. Chapter Fifty-Eight
  62. Chapter Fifty-Nine
  63. Chapter Sixty
  64. Chapter Sixty-One
  65. Chapter Sixty-Two
  66. Chapter Sixty-Three
  67. Chapter Sixty-Four
  68. A Letter from Jackie
  69. Acknowledgements
  70. About the Author
  71. Also by Jackie Walsh

‘I think I better go, Bert. Dad is waiting for me. I’ll call into the hospital tomorrow or the next day and check up on you. And you have my number if anything happens.’

‘Thanks Becca, it was nice to see a friendly face,’ he says, walking me to the door.

‘I’m sure the nurses are friendly, Bert.’

‘Oh they are, they are. Just not the kind of friendly you want.’

Stepping out onto the porch, my thoughts are twisted. Did the cops say something to Dad? Maybe they didn’t get to speak to him; it’s possible he doesn’t even know they called. His van would have been there if he’d gone to the bar. I want to ask Bert what time he saw the cops, but I don’t want to bring up the subject up again. But Bert will not let up.

‘Did you ever find out why the young lady was looking for you?’ he says.

‘I never did,’ I say, turning to walk away.

‘Oh,’ he says. ‘I thought you might have got some idea from the note she left you.’

I’m glad my back is to Bert because my face has probably turned grey. That’s it: the note. Katie Collins did not deliver the note to my apartment, she delivered it to my Dad’s house. Wherever she got her information from, it was not updated with my move to the city.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Dad’s van stands in the usual place at the side of the yard but when I get inside, the house is empty. I call out his name but there’s no reply, so I go upstairs to see if he is still in bed. If he’s not, this is my opportunity to search for the note.

The door to the bedroom is closed. With my hand on the handle I slowly open it and peep inside.

‘Dad, are you here?’

The room is empty, a cool breeze drifting through the open window. A tall freestanding wardrobe sits in the center of the wall. At the front of the wardrobe a dark suit hangs against the door with a tie hung over the right shoulder. A black tie. A pair of newly polished black shoes sit on the floor below. My heart shudders, sending a shiver through my body. I cross over and take a sleeve of the suit in my hand. I see him. Walking behind the coffin up the aisle of the church, standing by the grave tossing a rose into the ground. One last rose, one last goodbye.