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

There was a sound from somewhere, crunching and gravelly. He was aware of it, the noise making his fists clench, sweat break out on his brow.

He realised it was coming from him.

His teeth grinding together, as he thought of her face. The look she’d given him. Sympathy, sadness. The way she’d hummed and hawed, trying to find the right words.

Not the right words.The right words would have been very different to the ones she’d chosen. She would have welcomed him in. Touched his arm, smiled and reciprocated.

Instead, she’d stuttered and stammered and looked at him with nothing but pity. As if he’d just announced a beloved family pet had died, or he hadn’t got a job he’d really wanted.

He never wanted to see that look.

Not from her. Ever again.

Now, he hunched over his screen as he imagined a different look on her face.

Like the look on Emily’s face.

He needed a new player.

And he knew just who it should be.

She shouldn’t have let slip what she’d been doing to people. Trusted him with her secret.

Then, it wouldn’t have been used against her.

Twelve

Mark was dispatched to be with the family, given he was the only one from Major Crimes who had met with them.

Emily would be similarly dispatched elsewhere soon enough. Straight to the hospital morgue, to await identification by the family.

‘That’s all we know for now,’ Mark said, finishing his stilted update. He’d arrived thirty minutes earlier, knowing word had already reached them of the discovery that morning. Uniforms had beaten him there.

‘They’re going to let me know when we’ll be taking the next step, but for now, I’m afraid we’ll have to wait for more news.’

He’d be done with the case by the end of the day, he thought.

He hoped they wouldn’t be able to see much when they ID’d her. That this wouldn’t be made even worse.

There was no sign of the younger brother but Julie and Stephanie were sitting together on one sofa. Stephanie with a hand on her mother’s, the other softly caressing her back. The uncle was currently pacing up and down the small back yard.

‘They don’t know if it’s her though,’ Stephanie said. Her voice was still as solid and confident as it had been the previous day.

She was being strong for her mum, Mark thought.

‘I mean, it could be anyone,’ Stephanie continued, fixing Mark with a blue-eyed stare. Daring him to disagree with her, it seemed.