The Shrine: A DCI Ryan Mystery (The DCI Ryan Mysteries Book 16) by Ross LJ

Author:Ross, LJ [Ross, LJ]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub, mobi
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2020-05-09T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 17

Ryan and Anna had chosen to build their home in an idyllic corner of the world, resting at the top of a gentle hillside overlooking the ancient village of Elsdon. It held panoramic views of the Northumbrian countryside and, on a clear day, they could see for miles in any direction.

It was a place of big skies, and big dreams.

But, as he drove back from the city, Ryan couldn’t muster any of the joy he usually felt at the prospect of going home; not when every passing mile took him further away from the woman he loved. Only now that she had come through the worst of it did his mind allow him to truly comprehend what it would have meant to lose her, and the beauty of a starry night sky was not enough to salve the pain of what might have been.

Consumed by thoughts of how to find the person responsible, Ryan almost forgot about the visitors who awaited his return. A shiny Land Rover was parked on the gravel driveway, its tinted windows and nondescript license plate both subtle reminders of its owner’s pedigree. Charles Ryan was an important man, who’d given everything to Queen and Country for all of his sixty-seven years, leaving little for the family who’d lovingly waited for him at home—and, my, what a home it had been. Ryan had been born in a stately pile in Devonshire, which his father had inherited from his father, who’d inherited it from his father before him.

Lovely bricks and mortar, like the cathedral, Ryan thought. And just as cold.

Ryan turned off the engine of his own car and sat there until the cool night air began to seep inside, chilling the hands he rested limply in his lap.

He hardly noticed the cold, lingering there in the silent car, his mind awash with swirling memories of the past.

Daddy? Will you play with me?

I’m busy, Maxwell. Go and find a useful occupation, for heaven’s sake.

Angry with himself, angry with the child he had been, Ryan slammed out of the car and crunched across the gravel towards the front door. He was no longer a child, eager and desperate to please a man too important to find the time to play games. It hadn’t mattered then, and it didn’t matter now.

He schooled his features into a neutral mask before opening the door.

Whatever he’d been expecting, it wasn’t the warm, exotic scent of mixed spices wafting down the hallway from the kitchen, nor the sound of mellow jazz from the radio. Ryan’s stomach gave a loud rumble, reminding him that it had been a considerable time since he’d last eaten.

Still, he took his time hanging up his jacket and toeing off his boots, setting them beside Anna’s trainers, which stood neatly on the rack.

He couldn’t say why the sight of them was enough to bring tears to his eyes.

“There you are! I was beginning to worry.”

His mother’s quick footsteps sounded along the flagstone hallway and he found himself enveloped in his second maternal hug of the day.

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