BooksBarbecue
Back The Widow Save as PDF
Chapters (92)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. PART I
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. PART II
  15. 11
  16. 12
  17. 13
  18. 14
  19. 15
  20. 16
  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. 20
  25. 21
  26. 22
  27. 23
  28. 24
  29. 25
  30. 26
  31. 27
  32. 28
  33. 29
  34. 30
  35. 31
  36. 32
  37. 33
  38. 34
  39. 35
  40. 36
  41. 37
  42. 38
  43. 39
  44. 40
  45. 41
  46. 42
  47. 43
  48. 44
  49. 45
  50. 46
  51. 47
  52. 48
  53. 49
  54. 50
  55. 51
  56. 52
  57. 53
  58. 54
  59. 55
  60. 56
  61. 57
  62. 58
  63. 59
  64. 60
  65. 61
  66. 62
  67. 63
  68. 64
  69. 65
  70. 66
  71. 67
  72. 68
  73. 69
  74. 70
  75. 71
  76. 72
  77. 73
  78. 74
  79. 75
  80. 76
  81. 77
  82. 78
  83. 79
  84. 80
  85. 81
  86. 82
  87. 83
  88. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  89. MORE FROM VALERIE KEOGH
  90. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  91. The Murder List
  92. About Boldwood Books

An apartment in London. Not a house in Swindon. More lies – Allison shouldn’t be surprised. It was unlikely anything she’d been told was true. She wasn’t sure why she bothered to ask, ‘Is your name really Jo?’

Jo looked at her as if she was going to say something profound and Allison held her breath.

But the moment passed, and Jo grinned down at her. ‘It is now.’ She juggled the mobile. ‘A key, please. I won’t be long, it’s not far.’

Until Allison could get her thoughts together, she seemed to be out of options. ‘Right,’ she said, getting to her feet. Jo didn’t step back, and they ended up almost nose to nose. This close, Allison could see the unnatural stretch of skin across Jo’s cheeks. This close, she could see that the upward tilt at the corner of her mouth wasn’t down to an inherent cheerfulness but merely a side-effect of the facelift. Only then did Allison understand why she felt so unsettled by her… it was the conflicting contrast between the almost-smile and the hard, derisive, condemning eyes. She shivered under their gaze. ‘A key, right, I’ll go and get one.’

She brushed by, taking a deep breath in the hallway. Maybe she should cut her losses. Pack her bags and disappear before Jo got back. Disappear. It was a tempting thought. If she had more money, she might have done but what she had wouldn’t get her far. She hadn’t checked her credit card recently, not since her last spending spree.

No, she needed to stay where she was. Find a solution to all her problems. Financial… and Jo. She’d think of something. She always did.

‘Here you go.’ She handed Jo the key. It was attached to a totally inappropriate fuzzy pink ball. ‘It was to make it easy to find.’

‘Good idea.’ Jo took the ball off and threw it onto the sofa. ‘I’ll just check it’s the right key, if you don’t mind. I wouldn’t want to get locked out and have to ring the doorbell again.’

Allison stood by as the key was tried. It had crossed her mind to give the wrong key, one of the many unknown ones that lay in the back of the kitchen drawer. She was glad she’d resisted. She needed to get this bloody woman to trust her… even a little.

Jo slipped the key into the pocket of her jeans. ‘And the alarm code? I wouldn’t want to be disturbing the neighbours by accidentally setting it off, would I?’

‘Of course.’ Allison reeled off the code.

‘1990?’ Jo stared at her, a strange expression on her face. ‘Nineteen ninety. Right. Okay, I’ll be back in a couple of hours. You should get some rest. You look like shit, if you don’t mind me saying.’