BooksBarbecue
Back When I Lost You
Chapters (81)
  1. Cover
  2. About the Author
  3. Dedication
  4. Prologue
  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. Fifty-six
  61. Fifty-seven
  62. Fifty-eight
  63. Fifty-nine
  64. Sixty
  65. Sixty-one
  66. Sixty-two
  67. Sixty-three
  68. Sixty-four
  69. Sixty-five
  70. Sixty-six
  71. Sixty-seven
  72. Epilogue
  73. Acknowledgments
  74. Read More
  75. Prologue
  76. One
  77. Two
  78. Three
  79. Four
  80. Follow Merilyn online
  81. Dedication

‘I don’t know. I just wanted to see if he had. Gloria …’ Carla knew she shouldn’t ask, but she had to know, ‘… why did you let Connor stay, after what he did to you?’

Gloria looked surprised. ‘Because I love him.’

Such simple words.

‘Even after everything he did to you and your family?’

Gloria floundered for a moment. ‘I love him and I hate him, if that makes sense.’

It did.

‘Did you kill him, Gloria?’

‘No,’ she said sharply.

‘Then who was the woman that went into the flat?’

Gloria looked pleadingly at her, begging her not to make her say.

‘Gloria. We need to know.’

Gloria burst into tears and it was seconds before she could speak again. ‘You don’t know what it’s like, trying to raise a kid on your own.’ She wiped her nose on her sleeve. ‘Mum helps, but she’s got to work too, and I couldn’t get a job, so some weeks we just couldn’t eat.’

Carla dug a tissue from her bag and handed it to her. ‘Go on.’

‘Well, that’s when I started … you know,’ she averted her eyes, ‘went on the game. And I don’t regret it.’ Her eyes caught Carla’s, this time with a flash of defiance. ‘But it was still hard. It takes a while to build up a client list and I was still struggling and Billy needed new school shoes and Mum couldn’t fill the electric card, so …’

‘So?’

Gloria exhaled, sank back into the sofa. ‘So, I said OK. I mean, wouldn’t you? Someone offers you £500 for one night in a flat that costs you £300 a month? How could I say no to that?’ The tears began again but Gloria continued to speak. ‘I didn’t know she was going to kill him. How could I have known that? And I’d never have taken the money if I knew she would do that. I loved him,’ she repeated, before falling silent.

Carla saw Bremer appear at the door. He gave her the thumbs-up, but she couldn’t share his sense of victory. And as he walked over to Gloria, handing her a cup of tea, all Carla could feel was guilt.

‘What was the woman’s name?’ Bremer sat back down in the armchair. ‘The one who gave you the money?’

‘I don’t know, she didn’t say.’

‘How do you know it was a she?’

Gloria hesitated. ‘I don’t know, I suppose I just assumed, what with why I was using the flat …’ She floundered, clearly not wanting to implicate herself further, keen to keep ‘running a brothel’ off her charge sheet.

‘Did they pay you in cash or by cheque?’ Bremer asked.

Carla knew the answer; a cheque was traceable, cash was not.

‘Cash – it’s over there in the drawer.’ Gloria nodded towards a wonky-looking dresser.

‘It’s OK, we don’t need the money.’