BooksBarbecue
Back The Favor
Chapters (78)
  1. Title Page
  2. Dedication
  3. Prologue
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. Twelve
  16. Thirteen
  17. Fourteen
  18. Fifteen
  19. Sixteen
  20. Seventeen
  21. Eighteen
  22. Nineteen
  23. Twenty
  24. Twenty-One
  25. Twenty-Two
  26. Twenty-Three
  27. Twenty-Four
  28. Twenty-Five
  29. Twenty-Six
  30. Twenty-Seven
  31. Twenty-Eight
  32. Twenty-Nine
  33. Thirty
  34. Thirty-One
  35. Thirty-Two
  36. Thirty-Three
  37. Thirty-Four
  38. Thirty-Five
  39. Thirty-Six
  40. Thirty-Seven
  41. Thirty-Eight
  42. Thirty-Nine
  43. Forty
  44. Forty-One
  45. Forty-Two
  46. Forty-Three
  47. Forty-Four
  48. Forty-Five
  49. Forty-Six
  50. Forty-Seven
  51. Forty-Eight
  52. Forty-Nine
  53. Fifty
  54. Fifty-One
  55. Fifty-Two
  56. Fifty-Three
  57. Fifty-Four
  58. Fifty-Five
  59. Fifty-Six
  60. Fifty-Seven
  61. Fifty-Eight
  62. Fifty-Nine
  63. Sixty
  64. Sixty-One
  65. Sixty-Two
  66. Sixty-Three
  67. Sixty-Four
  68. Sixty-Five
  69. Sixty-Six
  70. Sixty-Seven
  71. Sixty-Eight
  72. Sixty-Nine
  73. Seventy
  74. Acknowledgments
  75. About the Author
  76. Remarkable Praise for Nicci French
  77. Also by Nicci French
  78. About the Publisher

“Yes,” said Jude. She had decided that she would answer any specific question honestly. But she wasn’t going to volunteer any information that she didn’t have to. She didn’t know what they wanted or what they knew.

Andy leaned forward and picked up the envelope, then seemed to think better of it and replaced it on the table.

“You were close friends,” he said. It wasn’t a question.

Jude looked to one side, meeting the eyes of Liam in the photo, seeing that secret smile of his. The years seemed to dissolve and she was eighteen again and giddily in love. For a moment, she couldn’t look away. She felt hot tears well up and bit her lip fiercely: she mustn’t cry in front of Liam’s parents.

“We went out together,” she said. “For a bit.”

The words sounded horrible and false as she spoke them.

“If you don’t mind me saying so,” Andy said, “Liam never once mentioned you in that way.”

“Teenagers have secrets,” she said. “I never mentioned him to my parents either.”

“Liam had lots of girlfriends,” said Tara. Her voice was harsh. “It was hard to tell them apart. Girls always loved him. He had to fight them off.”

“He didn’t fight me off,” said Jude, and then was appalled at the words. “I mean,” she added, “it wasn’t like that between us.”

“We obviously knew your name though,” said Andy.

“You were the girl in the car.” Tara stared at her like a judge waiting to pass sentence.

Jude nodded.

“And,” Tara continued, “you were the woman in the cottage.”

Here it was: the reason they wanted to see her then. They knew who she was: the woman Liam had been having an affair with. That’s what everyone thought.

“Yes,” she said softly. “I was.”

“You were there that first time everything went so wrong for him,” said Tara. “And you were there at his death.”

“Hardly at his death,” began Jude, then wiped a hand across her forehead. She felt cold and shivery. “But that’s not the point. You’re right that Liam got back in touch just before he was killed. It must seem odd to you.”

“Odd? Odd? You think it seems odd?” Jude shrank back at the tone of savage sarcasm. “It doesn’t seem odd, it seems nasty and wrong. Like someone’s telling lies. Lies about my son who can’t speak up for himself.”

“Tara,” said Andy warningly.

“The police are making out he was planning something dodgy. With you.” Tara pointed a long finger at Jude. Her mouth was drawn back, her dark eyes were slightly protuberant, and there was a look of accusation in them.