Body on the Shore by Dickson Diane M

Author:Dickson, Diane M
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Book Folks contemporary fiction publisher
Published: 2020-11-03T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 33

Graham hadn’t bothered to get dressed. He had made tea and eaten a slice of bread and jam. Then that Ben had rung, and he had spewed it all back into the toilet pan. He tried to sound calm, unflustered, but inside his stomach was churning and the pounding in his chest was painful. That would be an answer, a bloody heart attack and finish it all decently. Rose would get the insurance. The threat would disappear, and he wouldn’t have to struggle any longer.

It hadn’t happened and now he was sitting in the living room, the curtains still drawn. He had to get his hands on the money. He couldn’t get cash, not that quickly. Given a few days he could, but not by Monday. He’d get a couple of thousand, take that, and tell the bloke that he’d get the rest as soon as he could.

He heard Rose’s car pull into the drive and dashed to the front door to meet her. She was haggard and ill-looking, there were dark shadows under her eyes, and they were puffy and sore. She had been crying and he was riddled with guilt as he looked at her. This was no good for her, in her condition.

She didn’t push him away as he put his arms gently around her shoulders and shepherded her into the hallway.

“Rose,” he said, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I never wanted to upset you like this.”

She pulled away and looked at him. He didn’t see forgiveness, but more resignation, as though she had always expected him to let her down and now here it was.

“We need to talk, Graham. You need to tell me all about this and then we’ll have to see what we can do.”

“What did your sister say?”

“Jesus, Graham, I didn’t tell Jenny about this. I just told her we’d had a row. I couldn’t tell her about this. We can’t tell anyone about this.”

“No, that’s it. That’s why I didn’t say anything.”

“Get me a glass of water and then we’ll sort it.”

He didn’t respond. She thought this was a minor thing, the appearance of an unknown daughter. Shocking, perhaps even devastating but manageable. Something that you could adjust to and, in time, even accept. That might have been an option if he hadn’t panicked, but not now.

He didn’t know what he was going to tell her. He would need to come up with something, but every option just threw up more questions. He could just tell her to leave it to him, that he was dealing with it and she didn’t need to give it any more thought. He knew that wouldn’t wash. One of the things that had attracted him to her was her strength, her determination. She was quite a lot younger than him, but she took things on the chin and then sorted them. He used to say she was like a terrier with a bone. He wouldn’t be able to flannel her, but he had to keep her at arm’s length from the truth.

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