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

‘You’re going to need time to let this sink in,’ Mark said, moving his hand to her shoulder. ‘You need to be with your mum for now. Help each other. A family liaison officer is on her way here now. They’ll be with you for the foreseeable future. They’ll be able to help you as well.’

Mark removed his hand and guided her back to her mum, leaving them ensconced in the relative’s room, still holding on to each other. He closed the door behind him and felt only anger at what was about to happen to them. The multitude of police detectives who would now become part of their daily lives, especially once Rich was arrested. It was bad enough for them when it was only him – now, there would be a whole team they would have to deal with. Asking questions they probably couldn’t answer. Keeping things from them. They would almost become ancillary to the entire story, as the truth became the only thing of interest.

He didn’t want to think about how their lives would be if DI Bennett’s theory was correct. That someone in their own family was responsible.

He knew Bennett would be here, waiting for a moment to step in and speak to him face to face. Probably overseeing the entire process. Watching their reactions, looking for something that didn’t fit.

He found her leaning against the wall with her arms folded. Mark came to a stop and then slumped next to her. ‘If they’ve got anything to do with her death, they’re bloody amazing actors.’

‘I’ve seen better,’ DI Bennett replied, unmoved from her spot. ‘But it doesn’t matter anyway. They’re not involved. It’s the uncle.’

‘You’re sure now?’ Mark replied, standing up slightly, trying not to let tiredness wash over him. ‘What do we know really?’

‘It’s his yard, Mark. And really, come on, how often is it a stranger? Really, when we start looking at every murder we investigate, you’ve got to play the odds. It’s always someone known to the victim.’

‘Not always,’ Mark said, but he didn’t trust his words enough to have any conviction behind them. ‘I just don’t want us wasting time on him if there’s someone else out there.’

‘Someone she met online, or the like?’

‘That’s what I’ve been looking into the past couple of days. Emily had a whole network of people on the hook on the internet. One of them might have been disgruntled enough to do this.’

‘How many of them have you spoken to now?’