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Back Her White Lie Save as PDF
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

I dial her number but there’s no answer. Maybe she’s avoiding my calls, especially after her drunk episode on Friday night. She must be embarrassed about ringing me like that, struggling to put two words together. That’s if she even remembers making the call. She was so drunk it’s quite possible she doesn’t. Maybe Faye is not avoiding me at all. Just busy making life-saving decisions or delivering bad news to some unfortunate patient. I wish I could have done what she wanted and not mentioned her name to the cops. I know why she doesn’t want them contacting her. At least I think I do. But what if I’m wrong? What if Faye is hiding something else from the cops? Something that made her leave Huntley Lodge so hastily. I put my phone back in my pocket and think back to how everything changed overnight.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Then

The café isn’t busy today but still I’m afraid to ask my boss if I can leave. I don’t know what excuse I’ll give, especially after being out of work for the past week. But I really can’t stay here and serve coffee when I’m suffering this pain. I keep making mistakes, handing out the wrong coffee or giving the wrong change and then when someone points it out to me I get all nervous and jittery and have to coax the tears back in behind my eyes.

It’s not a physical pain; it’s worse than that and nothing will relieve it, not the two Solpadeine I just swallowed or the extra strong coffee I’ve been drinking all morning in an attempt to stay focused. This pain is dreadful, it’s cruel and the only cure for it is time.

The damp cloth feels unusually heavy in my hand. Wiping it over the counter I watch the rings of stain disappear and wonder exactly how much time are we talking about here. A week, a month, a year? Exactly when will my mother’s death become a lighter load to carry?

‘Tara.’ Muriel calls me over to where she’s standing by the barista machine. ‘I think you should go home, love,’ she says.

‘But…’ I don’t know what to say. I’m exhausted.

‘Come back when you’re ready.’ Muriel smiles, puts her hand on my arm and squeezes. ‘It will take time, Tara,’ she says. ‘Take care of yourself and I’ll see you in a couple of days.’