The Cliff-Top Killer (The Sydney Harbour Hospital Series Book 8) by Chris Taylor

Author:Chris Taylor [Taylor, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: LCT Productions Pty Limited
Published: 2016-12-26T07:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Shelby felt a wave of curiosity. She didn’t know much about Samuel’s family. In the short time they’d known each other, they hadn’t talked a lot about them. She knew his parents lived on the waterfront in the ritzy eastern suburb of Point Piper and he was the oldest of eleven children, but that was about the extent of it. She shot him a rueful smile. “They can’t be any weirder than mine.”

To her surprise, his answering grin failed to materialize. “I guess that depends on your viewpoint,” he said somberly. “My parents are over-achieving, often emotionally distant workaholics. I blame them for the fact one of my younger brothers is a drug addict, living on the streets, with no greater ambition than to find his next fix.”

Shelby gasped in shock. Samuel had a brother who was an addict? The image conjured up in her mind was so far removed from the suave, successful doctor she sat next to on the couch, it was almost unbelievable. And yet, he looked perfectly serious.

“What’s your brother’s name?” she asked, unable to think of anything else to say.

“Paul.”

“How old is he?”

“He’s three years younger than me. He’s twenty-seven.”

“Same age as me,” she murmured and tried to imagine what might cause her to turn to drugs.

“How did his life go so far off course?” she asked.

Samuel sighed heavily. “Who knows what makes someone choose a certain path over another? One thing I do know is that my parents have to shoulder some of the blame.”

She frowned. “But you turned out okay. Better than okay. They must have done something right.”

“Perhaps I was just more determined to make a success of my life.”

“What about the others? Your siblings? How did they fare?”

“They did okay. Some of them went to college, some pursued other career paths. Most of them still live in Sydney.”

“So it’s only Paul who went astray. Most people would think with that many kids to consider, having only one make a few wrong turns along the way is pretty good.”

Samuel grimaced. “I guess if you look at it objectively, take all the emotion out. Real life’s not like that. Paul’s a flesh and blood man, not part of the odds.”

“Tell me about your family,” she said softly, sensing there was a lot he hadn’t shared. He’d hinted at difficulties the night of their first date, but she hadn’t been brave enough to push for more information. Things were different now. Knowing about his family was important. She needed to know if there was anything that could come between them; anything that could jeopardize the future she was starting to believe in.

He leaned forward. Resting his elbows on his knees, he stared out through the sliding glass doors at the gathering evening. Shelby remained silent, giving him the time he needed to gather his thoughts. After taking a couple of mouthfuls of Coke, he spoke again.

“My parents are wealthy people. Dad’s a hotshot stockbroker. Mom’s the CEO of a bank. Growing up, the eleven of us wanted for nothing.

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