Sleep Tight (39 page)
‘When Sophie said she’d met you, and you had never heard one word from Dan after he left me, I knew he had to be dead. He loved you so much, Samir. He would never have cut you out of his life, or the rest of your family. And never for a moment did I believe my parents’ death was an accident.’
For a moment, I can’t speak so Sophie continues the story for me.
‘I made Liv go through everything – from the day she met Robert. When she told me that he had been knocking on her door within hours of the flat going on the market, and bought it without a single quibble, I knew there was no way this was a coincidence. Then he rode in on his sodding chariot when Liv’s parents died, but at no time could she remember telling him where they lived. So we started to question everything from the moment he so charmingly introduced himself, until the night he threatened to kill the children.’
‘And Dan?’ Samir asked again, looking at me with his gentle brown eyes, so like his brother’s.
‘The first real evidence I had that Robert knew more about Dan’s death than he should have was when I heard him telling Jaz that her father had run away to Australia. I never told Robert that. I never told anybody, because I was so ashamed that he had left me with our baby. The police knew, but until this started and I told you two, I hadn’t told anybody else. Robert must have killed Dan and then taken the train himself, with Dan’s phone and credit card. Poor Jaz. He had no right to tell her that.’
‘And how
is
my daughter?’ Samir asks with a straight face. I close my eyes for a second. I am ashamed of this lie, but I’d had no choice. I say a silent prayer of apology to Danush before turning to his brother.
‘Oh God, I’m so sorry, Samir. I was hoping it wouldn’t come to that.’
Samir laughs. ‘I’m joking, Liv. I’d be proud if she was really my daughter. I’ve told my wife everything. She did a great job with the police and she’s fully behind us.’
I glance at him with a worried frown. I had always trusted Samir to know what was safe, but he had run the biggest risk of all. He had slowly but surely extracted his own blood, pint by careful pint over a period of days, ready to set the scene of the murder. We had hoped that Samir’s old gloves pushed into a box of Dan’s stuff would be enough DNA evidence for the police, but there was always the chance that they would check Jasmine’s DNA too. They would know the blood came from a paternal uncle, so the lie was a necessity. And I know Dan would forgive me for that.
Every step we had taken had been dangerous with so many potential pitfalls. What if Mrs Preston had recognised that the person getting out of the car in the middle of the night was too tall to be Robert? We had hoped that the security light would blind her as Samir made his way up the path, but there had been too many factors that relied on the skill of the police and the nosiness of neighbours.
I breathe out a long, slow breath. It seems it’s all over, and finally we can sleep safely in our beds at night.
I let go of Samir’s hand and grab his arm, pulling him closer to my side so I can rest my head against his shoulder. If I close my eyes I can imagine, just for a second, that he is Dan.
‘I think we’re here – or as near as I can possibly guess. This is more or less where Robert made me stand and think about what might lie beneath my feet, so knowing his warped mind, we can’t be far away.’
I look at each of them in turn. Sophie gives me a sad smile, and Samir nods his head just once.
I open my bag and pull out a single white rose. I bring it to my lips and give it the briefest
kiss before dropping to my knees. I lay the rose gently on the sodden earth, and feel the warmth of Samir’s hand on my shoulder.
‘For you, my darling Dan. For everything you were, everything you meant to me, and for our beautiful daughter. I’m sorry I ever doubted you.’
###
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rachel Abbott was born and raised in Manchester, England, and trained as a systems analyst before launching her own interactive media company in the early 1980s. She sold her company in 2000 and in 2005 moved to the Le Marche region of Italy.
She recently moved to Alderney, one of the Channel Islands, where she now writes full time.
Rachel Abbott’s first book –
Only the Innocent
– became an international bestseller, reaching the number one position in the Amazon charts (both UK and US).
Her second novel –
The Back Road
– reached the number 2 position in the UK, and was in the top ten for four weeks.
The next book from Rachel Abbott
If you are wondering about the break-in at Tom’s cottage in Cheshire, all will become clear in Rachel’s next book as Tom uncovers the mystery surrounding the death of his brother, Jack.
To keep up to date with Rachel Abbott’s new releases, please complete a
contact form
Read the first page of the Prologue to Only the Innocent on your Kindle now
!
Read the first page of the Prologue to The Back Road on your Kindle now!
Connect with Rachel Abbott online:
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/_RachelAbbott
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/RachelAbbott1Writer
Website:
http://www.rachel-abbott.com
Blog:
http://rachelabbottwriter.wordpress.com
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Once again I owe a debt of gratitude to many people for their help in writing this book, and I sincerely appreciate the advice so willingly given by so many people.
There are a few people who I must mention specifically, and as always I would like to thank John Wrintmore for his insights into the workings of the police, and for answering every question – no matter how trivial. For this novel, I also had to seek advice from Colin Solway of the Alderney Police, who was immensely helpful and gave his time freely. Any mistakes are entirely mine, and are made in the interests of the story.
For this book, I also needed help with some of the forensic details, and I would like to thank Mike Silverman, whose book
Written in Blood
is released on 13th February 2014.
There were many people who offered nuggets of information – some of which didn’t quite make it into the book – but to all the people on this surprisingly long list, thanks for taking the time to inform me about everything from swapping IP addresses to forensic archaeology. To name but a few, my thanks go to Kate Britton, Steve Rodgers, Lindsey Thomas, Tim Dickinson, Brenda Duncan, Becky Scrivener, John Raffle, Diego Benito plus the staff at Aurigny, Eyetek, Tor Project and iPrivacy.
My early readers have been fantastic, providing excellent feedback and suggestions, and there is a small group of people that have helped in so many ways over the past year. Thank you Kath, Judith, Charlotte, Ceri, Ann, John, Kathryn, Rick, and Andria. A special thanks the wonderful people of Alderney, who have been so welcoming. I apologise for taking a few liberties with the geography of your beautiful island.
Alan Carpenter, my long-suffering designer, has produced a wonderful cover, yet again, despite my indecisiveness and constant changes of direction.
My particular gratitude, as always, goes to my agent, Lizzy Kremer – the best there is. She has been a wonderful source of support and guidance, as have the rest of the team at David Higham Associates – especially Laura and Harriet. I don’t know how many times Lizzy and Harriet read this manuscript, but their help and direction, together with input from two terrific editors, Clare Bowron and Lizzie Dipple, have made this a far better book than it might otherwise have been. I can’t thank you all enough.
LINKS
The
Rachel Abbott website
is a source of information about all the books, and if you are particularly interested in any of the recipes mentioned in the books, they can be downloaded and printed from the website.
If you would like to be notified of any new books by Rachel Abbott in the future, please visit
http://www.rachel-abbott.com/contact/
and leave your email address.
If you would like to find out more about the wonderful island of Alderney, take a look at the
Visit Alderney website
.
ONLY THE INNOCENT
DESCRIPTION OF ONLY THE INNOCENT
When Laura Fletcher approaches her home in Oxfordshire to find hordes of photographers crowding the gates, she knows there is something terribly wrong. She is faced with the shocking news that her husband is dead - brutally murdered - and according to Chief Inspector Tom Douglas, there is little doubt that the murderer is a woman.
In a marriage that has taken her from the glamorous five star luxury of London, Venice and Positano to a bleak and draughty manor house in rural Oxfordshire, Laura has learned to guard her secrets well. She is not alone. It would appear that
all
the women in her husband's life have something to hide.
But there is one secret that she has never shared, and when the investigation reaches its dramatic and horrific climax, she realises that she has no choice. She has to give Tom Douglas the final piece of the puzzle. And this changes everything, leaving Douglas with a terrible dilemma: whether to punish the guilty, or protect the innocent.
ONLY THE INNOCENT is a spellbinding psychological thriller that will leave you breathless!
READ THE FIRST PAGE OF THE PROLOGUE
Bright sunshine flooded through the tall windows, touching each surface with its dazzling light. Every corner of the room was bathed in a soft yellow glow, and its elegant proportions were displayed to their best advantage. It was a disaster. The one thing she hadn’t allowed for was a sunny day.
Maximum impact—that’s what she was striving for. The clothes, the hair, the jewellery; her attention to detail had been impeccable, and any false note would influence his perception of her credibility. But instead of completing the illusion by creating subtle lighting and atmospheric shadows, the room was more akin to a floodlit stage. It was the end of October in London. It was supposed to be raining.
She didn’t know what to do. Should she close the curtains? No. That would never work. Too obvious by far, and he wouldn’t like it. But time was running out, and she had to think fast. She adjusted everything quickly until she was sure it was as perfect as it could be, angling a wingback leather armchair so that it almost faced the door, sufficient that she could see his face without turning her head. But not straight on. That would give her nowhere to hide. And the light from the window had to be behind her, of course, throwing her face into enough shadow to disguise anything that her eyes might inadvertently reveal.
Her preparations were complete. All she could do now was wait and think of the inevitability of what was about to happen. Every muscle in her body was taut, and her shoulders were rigid. She forced herself to relax. She heard the sound of a taxi drawing to a halt and a car door slamming. She quickly glanced in the mirror to check that everything was perfect, and was alarmed to see the inner turmoil betrayed in her eyes. She breathed deeply, suppressing the thoughts and images that were crowding her mind, fighting to compose herself.
She heard nothing more for several minutes, but she knew he was in the house. There were no footsteps; the deep pile carpet in the hall and up the staircase to the third floor smothered any sound. But he was moving straight towards the bedroom. Every nerve ending in her body told her so.
***
To carry on reading, go to
Amazon
where a longer sample is available.
PRAISE FOR ONLY THE INNOCENT
“Rachel Abbott’s
Only the Innocent
is not your average whodunit murder mystery. The question that drives this thriller is not
who
did it, but
why
. Abbott carefully constructed a world of mystery, depravity, sex, violence, manipulation and intrigue on so many different levels that I can honestly say you truly have to read until the last page to understand and appreciate the complexity of the story.”
“It’s a long time since I read a book that occupies my mind constantly and is all consuming. When I was reading this one, or when I was not, I could think of little else.”
“I could not put this book down – it was a completely addictive page-turner – so much so that I read until 3 am finishing it.”
Download a sample of
Only the Innocent
from
Amazon
THE BACK ROAD
