Her Daughter's Secret by Lisa Timoney

Author:Lisa Timoney [Lisa Timoney]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2022-07-26T17:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

Three Years Ago

The adrenaline coursing through Bea wouldn’t let her sit in the chair next to the narrow bed in the Accident and Emergency triage room. She stood, holding Immy’s trembling hand, trying to take in the enormity of what had happened that evening. Immy had been thoroughly checked over by the doctor and was lucky to have got away with only cuts and bruises. Thank God she’d been wearing a seatbelt. She was the only one who was.

Bea tried to regulate her breathing. The dried blood crusting on Immy’s cheeks looked as though a child had splashed her with red-brown paint. Listening as the police interviewed Immy, she discovered it was Zach’s blood, from when his head hit the windscreen and his face … how did Immy put it …? Kind of exploded.

The police officers left and now it was just the two of them, trying to absorb the reality of what had happened, in the tiny room that smelled of disinfectant. Immy let go of her hand and leaned over the grey paper kidney bowl on her lap. She retched up what was left in her stomach and the stench of vomit and alcohol made Bea’s own stomach curdle.

The door opened and Ewan stood, ashen faced, his mouth hanging and eyes wild. ‘Gemma’s dead.’

Immy retched again. Bea covered her mouth. It couldn’t be true. It was too horrific to be true.

Ewan’s eyes fixed on Immy. ‘Your boyfriend and my wife are dead. They’re dead. What happened, Immy? How did this happen?’

Immy’s breath was coming in short, staccato bursts. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t know he would—’ She leaned over and made a choking sound but there was nothing left to come out. ‘I’m sorry.’

Ewan stepped forwards and Bea felt the need to turn, so her body was shielding Immy. The muscles in his jaw jumped and red circles formed below his cheekbones, vivid against the whiteness of his skin. ‘What happened?’

Immy hiccupped as she spoke, ‘I didn’t expect him to—’ She shook her head, as though trying to dislodge an image. ‘I can’t explain.’

‘Try,’ Ewan snarled. ‘For the sake of my daughter. Tell me what happened.’

‘It was my fault. It’s all my fault.’

Bea’s heart plummeted. ‘No. You weren’t driving. You tried to stop him.’ She had to stop Immy saying anything more. This wasn’t what she’d told the police. She’d said she tried to grab the wheel, but he’d gone mad and slammed his foot on the accelerator. ‘It wasn’t your fault.’

‘When we saw Gemma’s car, I told him I’d seen Gemma with a man in town, and he must’ve thought up the plan then.’

‘What plan? I don’t understand,’ said Bea.

‘Let her talk,’ said Ewan.

Immy slapped at the wetness on her face. ‘He told Gemma he wanted five thousand pounds not to tell you we’d seen her that night. He took pictures of her and the man on his phone and said he’d delete them if she gave him the money. But she laughed and he went mad.

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