THE LIAR a stunning thriller full of breathtaking twists by JANE ADAMS

Author:JANE ADAMS [ADAMS, JANE]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Joffe Books crime thrillers and mysteries
Published: 2019-11-18T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 25

Late afternoon saw an immaculate Jaguar XJ6 creep cautiously up the lane to John’s cottage. Its pristine condition told him that this must be Cousin Billy. John went out and directed his cousin to the rather awkward parking space at the side of the house.

“Can’t you move somewhere more accessible?”

“Why, so you can visit in comfort once a decade? More, for that matter. You’ve not been over here since Grace died.”

“I surely have.”

“And I’m sure you have not. Come along in.”

John led the way. Billy, carrying an old wooden box, followed him into the tiny kitchen and plonked himself down at the table. “Get the kettle on, then. You got the copy of the will?”

“I did, thank you.” It hadn’t told him anything new, unfortunately. Jerry had made a dozen such small bequests as he had made to Martha, mostly to those who had looked after him at the home. “What have you got in the box, then?”

Billy shrugged and gave John what he thought of as his trademark grin. “Lots of junk, if you ask me, but you might find something of use.” The smile faded and he forced his face into unaccustomed seriousness. “Look, John, I have to be frank here. Everyone’s a mite upset by all these goings-on. No one seems to have really known this Martha woman. Everyone seems to have assumed someone else knew her better than they did, and they all feel like she was taking the piss. John, what the hell was she up to?”

“I don’t know. Not yet. She was looking for her grandchild, that’s all we’re sure of.” Not the exact truth, but it would have to do.

“And she hoped to find it in amongst our lot? John, if we’d found ourselves with an extra child, someone would have noticed, don’t you think?”

John shrugged. His boyhood dream echoed in his memory. The child crying, his mother’s voice arguing.

“Did Jerry have any children?” The question was out before he was aware he was going to ask it.

“Jerry? Jerry never married, you know that.”

“Which doesn’t preclude children.”

Billy shook his head. “Jerry was old school. That wasn’t his style.” He looked narrowly at John as though trying to see where he’d come upon such a crazy notion. Gave up. “Now, what about that tea?”

* * *

Billy had left, and John was sorting through the contents of the box when Mike arrived. The blue book and the pictures John had said were missing still hadn’t turned up.

“Found anything?” Mike asked.

“Nothing relevant to your case, as far as I can see. Has Tom’s car been found?”

“Not as yet. It’s possible Matthews, if that is who killed him, picked him up somewhere or maybe he hid it. We’ll find it,” he added, his tone harsh. “So, what do you have there?”

John smoothed the creases from a birth certificate he had found stuffed among letters and photographs and news clippings. The detritus of a long life. He pushed it across the table. “Silvia Jones, born February 4, 1947.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.