BooksBarbecue
Back The Dead Wife
Chapters (49)
  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. Acknowledgements
  47. About the Author
  48. Also by Sue Fortin
  49. About the Publisher

‘It belonged to Elizabeth. We met one day for lunch. Everything seemed fine. We chatted and left each other afterwards. When I got home, I found this notebook in my bag. I couldn’t think where it had come from. When I opened it, I recognised Elizabeth’s handwriting straight away.’

Steph looked down at the open book and flicked through the pages. It appeared to be a book where Elizabeth kept reminders for herself, to-do lists, places to go, almost like a filing cabinet but in no particular order. ‘What’s so important about this?’

‘When I phoned to tell her I’d found it, she asked me to look after it. She said it was important to her, but she didn’t want it back just yet. I think whoever was in my house was looking for it,’ said Sonia. ‘It’s the only personal item I have of Elizabeth’s.’

‘Did you show the police this?’

‘Yes. I did. And they weren’t interested. CID had a look through it and dismissed it. They gave it back to me the next day.’

Steph’s stomach gave a roll of unease at the mention of CID. It was highly probable it had been her own mother. She wondered now whether she should come clean and tell Sonia about Wendy. Would Sonia be OK about it or would she think Steph was more likely not to want to find out the truth? Undecided, she looked back at the book. ‘Can I keep this?’

‘Yes. I think you should. You need to go through it and find out what’s in there that’s so important.’

Steph had to admit she was a little sceptical that this notebook would hold the key to Elizabeth’s death, but she also knew she couldn’t ignore it either. She tucked the A5-sized notebook into her own bag. ‘I’ll look at it tonight.’

‘I know you probably think I’m crazy, but I’m grateful for all you’re doing,’ said Sonia. ‘Not many people are willing to listen to me any more.’ She squeezed Steph’s hand and her eyes filled with tears. Sonia fumbled in her pocket and found a tissue to wipe her face with. ‘I’m sorry. I’m not one for tears, but every now and again I can’t help it. I miss Elizabeth so much and even though she wasn’t an angel, she was my daughter, my flesh and blood, and I loved her more than anyone else could.’