Death of a Perfect Mother (24 page)

His tone of desperation seemed to wake Gordon out of his depression. He shook off his mood like a dog reaching dry land.

‘No,
we
've got
our
lives to live. We're all together in this, even more so since she died. I'm never going to get Ann. Perhaps I never expected to. Perhaps what I did it for was so the family would have a future. So I could knock it into shape. And I will too. This mood of mine, it'll pass. Things will get better. All we need is a bit of discipline. You'll be a credit to us. Debbie will come to something. I'll keep you on the right lines.'

‘Gordon, I don't want to be kept on your lines. I don't want you to take responsibility for me.'

‘You've no choice. That's what I did it for. I've got to make it worthwhile in the long run.'

‘Gordon, I didn't want that. I didn't want her dead.'

Gordon squared his shoulders and took his brother by the arm.

I know. That's why I did it alone. I had to set you free. I did it for you, baby brother. I did it for you.'

Brian looked bleakly ahead, in the bright white light of the washroom, and saw nothing but the shadow of another tyranny looming before him.

by the same author

DEATH IN A COLD CLIMATE

DEATH OF A LITERARY WIDOW

DEATH OF A MYSTERY WRITER

Copyright © Louise Barnard, 1981

www.SimonandSchuster.com

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Barnard, Robert.

Death of a perfect mother.

I. Title.

PR6052.A665D45   1981   823'.914     81-2815

ISBN 0-684-17019-1      AACR2

ISBN-13: 978-1-4767-1629-9 (eBook)

Copyright under the Berne Convention

All rights reserved. No part of this
book may be reproduced in any form without the
permission of Scribner.