BooksBarbecue
Back The Lucky Eight Save as PDF
Chapters (64)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Prologue
  4. Five Years Later
  5. One
  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. Twenty-one
  26. Twenty-two
  27. Twenty-three
  28. Twenty-four
  29. Twenty-five
  30. Twenty-six
  31. Twenty-seven
  32. Twenty-eight
  33. Twenty-nine
  34. Thirty
  35. Thirty-one
  36. Thirty-two
  37. Thirty-three
  38. Thirty-four
  39. Thirty-five
  40. Thirty-six
  41. Thirty-seven
  42. Thirty-eight
  43. Thirty-nine
  44. Forty
  45. Forty-one
  46. Forty-two
  47. Forty-three
  48. Forty-four
  49. Forty-five
  50. Forty-six
  51. Forty-seven
  52. Forty-eight
  53. Forty-nine
  54. Fifty
  55. Fifty-one
  56. Fifty-two
  57. Fifty-three
  58. Fifty-four
  59. Fifty-five
  60. Epilogue
  61. Acknowledgements
  62. Canelo Crime
  63. About the Author
  64. Also by Sheila Bugler

‘We get it,’ Jake said. ‘Course we do. But you’ve got to accept that people are going to be talking about it, Clodagh. I mean, no one knows how Gary got away with flying that plane while under the influence. I reckon it was vodka. Most other drinks, they make your breath stink. Not vodka, though.’ He winked at Felicity. ‘Might have to start drinking it myself the next time you have a go at me for drinking.’

‘Let’s talk about something else,’ Adam said. ‘Felicity, why don’t you tell us how your audition for Love Hotel went?’

As Felicity prattled on about some pointless reality TV show she’d auditioned for, Clodagh’s mind travelled back to the day of the crash. The memory was clearer now. Just a tiny sliver of a bigger picture, but it was a start. Standing at the sink in the Ladies’ toilet, splashing cold water on her hot face. Cheeks burning because she was angry. The sound of a toilet flushing, then a cubicle door opening. And nothing after that.

Her glass was empty. She stood up to get more water, ignoring Jake’s request to bring out another bottle of wine. While she refilled her glass, she focused on that memory, searching the dark empty spaces of her brain for what had come before. At first, it was the same as always. No matter how hard she tried, the memories wouldn’t come. And then, just as she was about to give up, it happened. A single memory. On its own, it didn’t make much sense but she already knew it was important.

Being single is your choice.

Vivienne’s voice, dismissive and mocking, the way she could be when someone dared to criticise her.

You’ve chosen the moral high ground instead of happiness.

‘Clodagh?’

She might have remembered more, but Adam had come into the kitchen, his voice dragging her back from the past.

‘Give me a second,’ she said. But it was too late. The rest of the memory wasn’t there. All she had was that moment: Vivienne’s mocking voice and the rage inside her, ready to explode.

Thirty

‘This thing is becoming bigger than we’d anticipated, wouldn’t you say?’

Sharon took a swig of coffee and continued speaking without waiting for Ade or Rachel to answer. Which Rachel, certainly, had no intention of doing. She’d worked with Sharon Spalding long enough to know that her boss only ever asked questions that were rhetorical. Because when you went through life believing you knew more about everything than everyone else around you, there was never a need for any other sorts of questions.