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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

‘Tell him, I guess.’ Clodagh groaned. ‘Oh God. Why is being a grown-up so bloody difficult?’

‘Well, you know that the alternative to being a grown-up is a lot worse. The sooner you speak to Adam, the better. Then you’ll be able to make plans. What about a doctor? Have you seen one yet? You’ll need a midwife and proper care during your pregnancy. This is a very special time for you and your little baby.’

A seagull swooped down and landed on the garden wall. He stared at Ivan and Clodagh for a few seconds, before opening his beak and screeching furiously at them.

‘That bastard is here all the time,’ Ivan said. ‘He hates me. I want to hate him back, but it is impossible to hate a bird with that much attitude. If he was a man, I’d be in love with him.’

‘How do you know it’s the same bird each time?’

‘Look at him! He’s completely unique. I would recognise him anywhere.’

Clodagh didn’t believe that, but she liked the idea of a stroppy seagull keeping an eye on her friend so she stayed quiet.

‘I remember seeing you at the airport,’ Ivan said suddenly. ‘That bird has reminded me. You were very angry with somebody.’

‘Who?’ Clodagh put her cup down on the table, her heart pounding. The memory of the rage she’d felt that day came back to her. A burning anger as she’d stared at her reflection in the Ladies’ toilets.

‘I don’t know,’ Ivan said. ‘I saw you as you approached the boarding desk. I was waiting the other side to go outside onto plane. You came charging down the corridor like a woman being chased by fire. And your face was red and scrunched up like you wanted to kill somebody.’

You should never have married him.

‘Vivienne,’ she said. ‘I was angry with Vivienne.’

The knowledge was like a light coming on inside her head. She could picture, in vivid detail, the incident Ivan was describing. The final boarding call had been announced. Clodagh was running, scared she’d miss the plane. Vivienne was running behind her, calling Clodagh’s name. Clodagh remembered swinging around to tell Vivienne to go away and leave her alone, and saying those words:

You should never have married him.

An idea was starting to form. A slow understanding of why she’d said that to her sister. Other memories from the holiday all coming together to tell a very different story of what had happened that week in Crete.