DEATH OF A GHOSTWRITER an utterly addictive cozy murder mystery by GAYNOR TORRANCE

Author:GAYNOR TORRANCE [TORRANCE, GAYNOR]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Joffe Books crime thriller and cozy mystery
Published: 2025-08-06T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 25

Their sleuthing had turned into the most surprising of days. By dogged determination, a little luck and some quick thinking, they had somehow managed to discover Albert’s real identity, which he had kept hidden from them throughout their entire relationships. It was something the police had so far failed to do.

‘You seem to be coping with the news of Albert’s death remarkably well,’ said Sylvie.

‘Don’t let appearances deceive you, my dear,’ said Catherine. ‘I’m devastated to learn of my son’s death, but the truth is I lost him about two years ago when he turned his back on me. His rejection came out of the blue and was callous. I hadn’t seen it coming as I’d always believed we were close. I was bereft, but I had to learn to live with it.’

‘Only two years ago? You mean that you were in regular contact with him until then?’ Harriet sounded surprised.

‘Naturally. He worked for me. Had an office here. Turned up Monday to Friday, nine to five, as regular as clockwork. But all that stopped, seemingly without any reason.’

‘He was always so cagey about what he did,’ said Sylvie. ‘He refused to speak about his work.’

‘He was quite the mystery man,’ said Liz.

Catherine’s laugh was hollow, abrupt and unexpected. When she spoke again there was the faintest tremor in her voice. It was apparent to those present that her relatively calm demeanour masked a maelstrom of raw emotion. ‘Well, I suppose you could say he was working undercover. After all, he spent thirty-five years as my ghostwriter. Not on the Tilly Taylor series. That was entirely my own.’ She sighed. ‘No, his creation was Harry Blake, the womanising PI who invariably managed to solve crimes before the police. Of course, he continued to write those books but dealt directly with the publishers. Before that, he always allowed me to read the first draft before it was sent off.’

‘I’ve read all of them,’ said Liz. ‘They’re good, but I’d never have guessed that they weren’t written by someone other than you.’

‘Oh, my son was a good writer. But it’s not enough to be good. Being good doesn’t get you a publishing deal. Which is why we decided that the best way forward was to publish them under my name. And it worked too. It was a very successful series.’

‘Did you know about us?’ asked Harriet.

‘Sadly, no. If I had, I would have wanted to meet you. But I suppose it’s hardly surprising. You see, Albert was always a very secretive child. He liked to keep things to himself. Which is why he was a perfect ghostwriter.’

‘We were both married to him for more than thirty years,’ said Sylvie. ‘And neither of us guessed that he had another family. He also told us you were dead and didn’t mention that he had a brother.’

‘Well, I suppose that everything will come out now,’ sighed Catherine. ‘And Ralph’s told me that there’s another woman too.’ She shook her head and sighed.

‘We haven’t met her,’ said Harriet.

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