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Back Her White Lie
Chapters (72)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Chapter One
  4. Chapter Two
  5. Chapter Three
  6. Chapter Four
  7. Chapter Five
  8. Chapter Six
  9. Chapter Seven
  10. Chapter Eight
  11. Chapter Nine
  12. Chapter Ten
  13. Chapter Eleven
  14. Chapter Twelve
  15. Chapter Thirteen
  16. Chapter Fourteen
  17. Chapter Fifteen
  18. Chapter Sixteen
  19. Chapter Seventeen
  20. Chapter Eighteen
  21. Chapter Nineteen
  22. Chapter Twenty
  23. Chapter Twenty-One
  24. Chapter Twenty-Two
  25. Chapter Twenty-Three
  26. Chapter Twenty-Four
  27. Chapter Twenty-Five
  28. Chapter Twenty-Six
  29. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  30. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  31. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  32. Chapter Thirty
  33. Chapter Thirty-One
  34. Chapter Thirty-Two
  35. Chapter Thirty-Three
  36. Chapter Thirty-Four
  37. Chapter Thirty-Five
  38. Chapter Thirty-Six
  39. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  40. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  41. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  42. Chapter Forty
  43. Chapter Forty-One
  44. Chapter Forty-Two
  45. Chapter Forty-Three
  46. Chapter Forty-Four
  47. Chapter Forty-Five
  48. Chapter Forty-Six
  49. Chapter Forty-Seven
  50. Chapter Forty-Eight
  51. Chapter Forty-Nine
  52. Chapter Fifty
  53. Chapter Fifty-One
  54. Chapter Fifty-Two
  55. Chapter Fifty-Three
  56. Chapter Fifty-Four
  57. Chapter Fifty-Five
  58. Chapter Fifty-Six
  59. Chapter Fifty-Seven
  60. Chapter Fifty-Eight
  61. Chapter Fifty-Nine
  62. Chapter Sixty
  63. Chapter Sixty-One
  64. Chapter Sixty-Two
  65. Chapter Sixty-Three
  66. Chapter Sixty-Four
  67. Chapter Sixty-Five
  68. Chapter Sixty-Six
  69. Chapter Sixty-Seven
  70. A letter from Jackie
  71. About the Author
  72. Also by Jackie Walsh

What I didn’t know was that Avril Ryan was a keen chess player. It took a minute for this to sink in. I had to read through the section a second time to make sure I read it correctly. Avril Ryan is a chess player. My dad is a chess player. Could he have known her? It’s not like every second person you meet plays chess, especially at club level, so it is possible. They might even be from the same club. In the background I hear some laughter and a lot of voices. The café is getting busy and Muriel will expect me to finish my break. I roll up the newspaper and shove it into the pocket of my jacket. I catch my image in the small wicker framed mirror that hangs on the back of the door. My face is pale. I rub my hands on my cheeks and take a deep breath to slow down my racing heart. It’s like I can’t get a break. What do I do about Dad? I’ll have to ask him if he knew Avril Ryan but what will that mean if he does? The detectives will want to talk to him if they find out the man who did all the maintenance at Huntley Lodge knew Avril Ryan. So I sure as hell won’t be mentioning it to them but I do want to know if he knew her.

‘Tara,’ Muriel calls out to me, breaking my train of thought. I move away from the mirror. I close my eyes briefly and beg God that Dad never heard of Avril Ryan. I don’t think I could handle what that would do to my paranoid head.

Chapter Forty-Nine

Sean is sitting behind his desk when I walk into his office. The cuffs on his crisp white shirt stick out below the sleeves of his light blue suit as he signs the paper in front of him. He has skin like satin that any woman would be jealous of. Sean, as always, looks like he’s stepped out of a magazine. His partner Flynn is just as handsome but hails from a different tribe altogether. He’s a bricklayer who works for a company that builds bespoke mansions. He’s been to the coffee shop a couple of times with Sean, his work clothes covered in the dust of someone else’s dream as he tucks into a double helping of the house special cheese and bacon toastie.