The Sister-in-Law: A gripping psychological domestic thriller full of suspense and shocking twists by AJ Carter

Author:AJ Carter [Carter, AJ]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Papyrus Publishing LTD
Published: 2023-09-18T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

Louise

I got the message last night, right on the tail end of Daniel’s birthday dinner. Acting as though it never happened was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. I didn’t want to ruin his birthday, and I certainly didn’t want to disturb him while he was in the middle of work, but I know for a fact he took the time to speak with Abby.

So now he has to speak with me.

Daniel is staring at the screen. It’s unclear what he’s thinking, but there are definitely some strong emotions dwelling within his eyes. Bad ones, too, as if that comes as any kind of surprise. From what I’ve read, he already knows a lot about the woman on my phone.

‘That’s Joanna Heywood,’ he says.

‘Go on,’ I tell him, as if he has something to answer for.

‘She’s no longer in our lives.’

‘Our lives?’

‘Abby and I.’ He points at the screen. ‘This woman. She…’

Is that the first sign of a tear I see, or is that just my mind wanting it to be there? Because from what the message said last night, he absolutely should hate to hear from Joanna. They have a very dramatic past that is already proving itself true by the way Daniel avoids looking again. Instead, his eyes are locked on mine, staring deep into my soul.

‘I don’t know what to tell you, but this woman is trouble.’

‘Care to elaborate on that?’

‘Maybe. What did she tell you?’

I shake my head to tell him that, no, he’s not going to get the answer from me. First, he has to tell me his side of the story. I want to see if the two tales align or how drastically different they are. There’s something in the way he stands, crossing his arms. There’s something…

‘It’s not really me she has the problem with. It’s Abby.’ Daniel sighs heavily. ‘Remember I said she was in prison for killing someone with her car? Her name was Anita Heywood. Joanna is her sister, and she’s… Last time I saw her, she…’

‘You can tell me.’ I lower my phone because I can see it’s causing him pain.

‘As Abby was heading into the courthouse for trial, Joanna threw a glass bottle at her. It missed, thank God, but I’ll never forget the way Joanna screamed. She was hurting, as you can expect from losing a sister, but she insisted Abby had killed Anita on purpose.’

I want to ask if she did, because – honestly – it wouldn’t surprise me. But I know better than to put forward such an accusation. Especially to Daniel, who must have already heard more than enough between me and his sister. I let him continue.

‘After Abby was sentenced, I started being followed by someone in a red Fiesta. It took weeks for me to get a glimpse of the number plate. When I did, I gave it a search online and found out it belonged to—’

‘Joanna?’

‘Right.’

‘So, what became of it?’

‘Absolutely nothing. Time went by, and she stopped long enough to let me breathe.

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