BooksBarbecue
Back The Secrets He Kept Save as PDF
Chapters (59)
  1. Cover
  2. Prologue
  3. Chapter One
  4. Chapter Two
  5. Chapter Three
  6. Chapter Four
  7. Chapter Five
  8. Chapter Six
  9. Chapter Seven
  10. Chapter Eight
  11. Chapter Nine
  12. Chapter Ten
  13. Chapter Eleven
  14. Chapter Twelve
  15. Chapter Thirteen
  16. Chapter Fourteen
  17. Chapter Fifteen
  18. Chapter Sixteen
  19. Chapter Seventeen
  20. Chapter Eighteen
  21. Chapter Nineteen
  22. Chapter Twenty
  23. Chapter Twenty-One
  24. Chapter Twenty-Two
  25. Chapter Twenty-Three
  26. Chapter Twenty-Four
  27. Chapter Twenty-Five
  28. Chapter Twenty-Six
  29. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  30. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  31. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  32. Chapter Thirty
  33. Chapter Thirty-One
  34. Chapter Thirty-Two
  35. Chapter Thirty-Three
  36. Chapter Thirty-Four
  37. Chapter Thirty-Five
  38. Chapter Thirty-Six
  39. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  40. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  41. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  42. Chapter Forty
  43. Chapter Forty-One
  44. Chapter Forty-Two
  45. Chapter Forty-Three
  46. Chapter Forty-Four
  47. Chapter Forty-Five
  48. Chapter Forty-Six
  49. Chapter Forty-Seven
  50. Chapter Forty-Eight
  51. Chapter Forty-Nine
  52. Chapter Fifty
  53. Chapter Fifty-One
  54. Chapter Fifty-Two
  55. Two Weeks Earlier
  56. A Letter From Jackie
  57. Acknowledgements
  58. About the Author
  59. Also by Jackie Walsh

‘I think that’s enough,’ Tom says, telling Amber to go and get ready for school before opening the hall door for the detective to leave. She walks out, saying she’ll need to speak to Kenny when he gets home. Tom tells her we’ve had enough commotion in the house so he’ll bring him to the station.

There’s no real proof that Joyce McCarthy killed her sister. Either she admits it, or they find the knife? Which could be at the bottom of the Liffey by now, floating among the rocks and fish, the empty cans and plastic rubbish. But what if Joyce McCarthy didn’t kill her sister… who did?

Tom is in Amber’s room screwing her new TV to the wall. I’m sitting with a pen and paper trying to make a list of stuff we need in the supermarket. Milk, bread, pizza, spaghetti, cheese, tomatoes, tuna, everything, everything, everything. My memory has gone to pot. Two weeks of heightened anxiety will do that to a girl.

Being on my own in the house with Tom is very unusual. Normally one of us is at work or the kids are here. In the earlier days we’d be straight in the sack, going at it like we were on a spousal visit. Hurry here comes the guard… Not anymore.

More and more I find myself asking, do I love him? Like really love him. I love Amber. I know that. But Tom? Would I have married him if I wasn’t pregnant? Probably. I thought he was great. Do I still think that?

I’m measuring my love for Tom with his value on the world around me, not my heart. To love him keeps the family together. To love him means I have someone to share things with, to go home to at night. To love him means I can grow old with him. It’s easier to love him than not. I love him because it’s easier.

Dropping the pen on the table, I massage my hands into my face, through my hair, down my neck. Why did the cops ask Amber if she believed Kenny? Do they not believe him? I need to find out more about Kenny, see if he’s telling the truth about never having known about his real mother. After all, he’s living under my roof, sharing this space with my family. If his head is messed up and he’s constantly lying, I don’t want him here. I’d never be able to relax knowing I couldn’t trust him.

His room, I suddenly think. Kenny isn’t here. I’ll check his room. I feel sure I’ll find my answers there.

Chapter Forty-Nine