Chapters (81)
- Cover
- About the Author
- Dedication
- Prologue
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-one
- Twenty-two
- Twenty-three
- Twenty-four
- Twenty-five
- Twenty-six
- Twenty-seven
- Twenty-eight
- Twenty-nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-one
- Thirty-two
- Thirty-three
- Thirty-four
- Thirty-five
- Thirty-six
- Thirty-seven
- Thirty-eight
- Thirty-nine
- Forty
- Forty-one
- Forty-two
- Forty-three
- Forty-four
- Forty-five
- Forty-six
- Forty-seven
- Forty-eight
- Forty-nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-one
- Fifty-two
- Fifty-three
- Fifty-four
- Fifty-five
- Fifty-six
- Fifty-seven
- Fifty-eight
- Fifty-nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-one
- Sixty-two
- Sixty-three
- Sixty-four
- Sixty-five
- Sixty-six
- Sixty-seven
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgments
- Read More
- Prologue
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Follow Merilyn online
- Dedication
‘And did you hear what he said at the end?’ She placed her hands on the desk and leaned back against it. ‘He said, “There is no Mary! Leave Mary out of it.” She looked expectantly at Paul and when he didn’t answer, continued.
‘How does he know there isn’t a Mary? If he knows as little about this case as he’s saying, then how does he know Mary doesn’t exist? And –’ she was animated now, hands gesturing as she spoke, ‘– if he doesn’t think there is a Mary, then why do we need to leave her out of it?’
She had a point. Why would Ian Fowler tell them to leave Mary out of the investigation if she didn’t exist? Which begged another equally obvious question. ‘Why is he so keen for us not to pursue Mary in this investigation?’
Nell pointed at Carla. ‘Exactly. The only reason he wouldn’t want us investigating Mary is if it would harm Joanne. Which means they know who she is – a real person not just a pseudonym for Joanne – and why she is connected to Connor and Eve. Hell,’ she raised her hands in the air, ‘Mary is the link we’ve been looking for all along.’
Carla picked up the phone. If Nell was right, there had to be a trace of Mary somewhere in the phone bills, and if there was one, Carla was damn sure she’d find it.
Thirty-four
Now
I wish my husband had never given me her number. He should have known I would use it to torture myself, that I couldn’t resist calling her. And now they will find the call I made to her, and slowly it’s all going to unravel, just like I want it to.
That’s the part of all this my husband doesn’t understand. Why I am sabotaging my own life to be rid of hers. But it’s more that he doesn’t want to see it. His fear of losing me, of not having me in his life, makes him blind, but even he would acknowledge this is no way to live a life. Constantly fighting to be rid of Eve, to battle every day the demons of our past. No, better to be gone from here, for good this time, than continue as we are.
So I made the call. Right before I killed O’Brian. I feel no guilt for that; the man showed no compassion towards his child, so why should I to him? And I wanted to warn her she might end up the same way if she gets in the way.