BooksBarbecue
Back One Year Later
Chapters (49)
  1. PROLOGUE
  2. PART I
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. PART II
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. PART III
  39. 35
  40. 36
  41. 37
  42. 38
  43. 39
  44. PART IV
  45. 40
  46. 41
  47. EPILOGUEAMY
  48. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  49. BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS

‘Listen to me, Nick. I spoke to Bethany this morning, after you called me. Even she says you’re being creepy and obsessive. She says she was drunk. That Prosecco, they sell it all over the island. She could have bought another bottle. The one you found on the beach was probably her second. She went to the terrace bar up on the hill every day; she must have got it there. Please, stop going on about it. The police are right: she tripped and hit her head. And it might not be ideal, but she’s using the experience – or a version of it – to relaunch her career. Booking online holidays, the dangers for women on their own in a foreign country, that kind of thing. We need to support her. Let her start over. And you need to deal with the real issue.’

‘Which is?’ Nick runs his hand through his hair, wipes the rain from his forehead. He’s frowning and he reminds her of what he was like when he was six years old.

‘Your grief. You need to find a way to deal with your grief.’ She blows her nose, wipes her eyes. ‘I have to go. Bethany says she doesn’t want to speak to you. I only came because she phoned me. Told me to get you off her back.’

‘It’s convenient for you, isn’t it?’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘That everyone thinks Bee was drunk. But somebody pushed her. She knows who attacked her. And for some reason she’s not telling anyone who did it. Why do you think that is, Amy?’

‘Nick! You’re losing it. I’d suggest therapy, if I didn’t think it was a waste of time.’

‘She wouldn’t tell the police if she loved the person who pushed her. If she could understand why that person wanted to attack her.’

‘Are you saying…? Oh my God, you are. You’re suggesting I tried to kill my own sister.’

‘No, no! I’m just… trying to think it through.’

‘Get a grip. And don’t call me until you’ve sorted yourself out.’

She lets herself out of the flat, dashing away tears of outrage and hurt as she hurries down the corkscrew staircase, past abandoned piles of mail in the hall and out into the rain-soaked street. She pauses for a moment, looking down towards the river, and automatically puts out a hand to stop her smallest daughter from stepping off the kerb, before she remembers.

37

NICK