Deep into that Darkness: A Yorkshire Murder Mystery (DCI Tom Raven Crime Thrillers Book 4) by M S Morris

Author:M S Morris [Morris, M S]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Landmark Media
Published: 2023-06-30T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

‘Here you go, love, get this inside you before you head off to work. There’s fresh tea in the pot too.’

There was no point Becca protesting, whatever her waistline might think. She took a seat at the kitchen table and accepted the plate of hot food her mum had made for her with thanks. As Sue said, it was no bother cooking for one extra mouth when she was already catering for all the guests staying in the guest house.

Liam was sitting opposite her, his eyes underscored with dark shadows, looking like he was nursing a hangover, but still quite capable of seeing off a full English washed down with mugs of hot tea. It had always annoyed Becca the way her brother took advantage of their mum’s generosity by turning up at mealtimes, often with a bag of dirty laundry, even though he had a flat of his own. Now for the first time, she understood.

Liam wasn’t lazy. He was lonely.

Perhaps.

He slid his empty mug across the table towards her. ‘Pour some tea in there, will you, sis?’

‘Pour it yourself,’ said Becca, passing him the teapot. ‘What happened to you last night, anyway?’

A guilty look immediately fixed itself to Liam’s face. ‘Nothing. What do you mean?’

Becca reached for the marmalade and began spreading it on her toast. ‘I was talking about your hangover. Now you’ve got me wondering what else you got up to.’

Sue came bustling over to make sure they were tucking in. ‘Liam was telling me about an exciting new business opportunity that’s come up.’

Liam shovelled a fork load of egg and baked beans into his mouth, looking like he wished Sue would keep his news to herself.

‘What business opportunity would this be, then?’ asked Becca. Liam always had some money-making scheme up his sleeve. Some of them worked out, some fell by the wayside. Not all of them were strictly legal, as far as Becca could make out.

He slurped his tea noisily. ‘Nothing to concern you, Becs.’

‘Well, now you’ve really got me interested.’

‘It’s a pub that needs a bit of work doing to it,’ explained Sue.

Becca scoffed at the idea. ‘What does Liam know about running a pub? All he knows is how to drink in them.’

Sue immediately rushed to her son’s defence. ‘I’m sure he knows a lot. It can’t be all that different to running a guest house, really. They just serve beer instead of tea. Isn’t that right, Liam?’

‘I think there might be more to it than that, Mum,’ said Becca. ‘Licensing laws, for instance.’

Liam looked as if he was regretting his decision to stop over for breakfast. ‘How hard can it be? Anyway, it wouldn’t just be me. There’s a couple of other guys who are interested. Experienced businessmen. We were discussing the possibility of going into partnership together. A consortium.’

‘That sounds like a posh word for a bunch of grown-up men going out and getting smashed,’ said Becca, unable to feel much pity for her brother.

Liam really did look ghastly, though.

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