Little Bones: A totally addictive crime thriller

by Patricia Gibney

  ‘D’you know Joyce?’ His words were beginning to slur. ‘Michael forced her into an awful life. I think it was them I saw on Misneach that night, burying something. Do you know … about it?’

  ‘Michael killed his own child. His and Joyce’s.’

  He felt reality slipping away. His mother disappearing from him. No, he’d only just found her.

  ‘DNA from the bones confirms that she was Joyce and Michael’s. Their daughter. He killed my Isabel because she and Joyce were attempting to blackmail him. He also tried to frame Jack. What kind of monster is he?’

  ‘The … worst.’ His voice sounded far away in his own ears.

  ‘When you’re better, Kevin, you’re coming to live with me. I’ve lost Isabel. I won’t lose you again. I am so sorry for all the years we’ve missed out on, but I want to be your mother now.’

  Her voice floated around him like an ocean wave. Up and down and around. The sound of his mother’s voice. A comfort blanket. And then Isabel appeared, her eyes bright and inviting.

  He tried to reach out a hand, to touch her fingers. She was suspended above him with invisible wings. He tried to see, but his eyes were closing.

  No, he couldn’t lose sight of her. But others were joining her. Joyce, with a little girl curled in her arms. All smiling. Calling him.

  He reached up, took his sister’s hand and closed his eyes for the last time.

  At last he had found peace.

  Farranstown House brooded like a hungry monster behind them. In front of them, beyond the rolling fields, the lake reflected serenity. A thin pinkish-white line split the sky on the horizon, dark grey clouds above with the shimmering lake beneath. They were sitting on a wooden fence, a metre of space between them, their legs wrapped around the horizontal beam. Tension fizzed from their bodies like static electricity.

  ‘I have to leave,’ Boyd said quietly.

  ‘Stay. Rose is in there cooking for you. Spoiling you.’ Lottie laughed, edging along the beam, trying to bridge the emotional gap that had sprung up between them. ‘After all that’s happened in the last week, I realise how lucky I am to have Rose in my life. And you, of course. I need a night of hugs … and much more.’ She winked. ‘I think we deserve it.’

  ‘I agree there. I’m in need of serious hugging time.’ He laughed softly. ‘But I do have to leave.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ She glanced at his face, shrouded in shadows. ‘You’re scaring me now.’

  ‘I’m sorry about this, but I’m heading to Spain.’

  ‘Come on, Boyd, now’s not the time for a holiday. We have to finalise our reports, not to mention the debriefing. Superintendent Farrell is floating in glory because we found Evan alive. But we need to be sure we have an airtight case against Michael Costello. Plus, you injured him – he’ll lose his hand – so you have that fallout to contend with.’ Her voice was quivering. ‘And listen, I need your help with Katie. She’s in a state.’

  ‘Because of Michael Costello offering her a job?’

  ‘She had a lucky escape there.’ Lottie inched closer to him. ‘You’ve been great with Sean. You’re a natural with my kids. Would you try talking to Katie for me? I’m sure she will—’

  ‘Stop, Lottie.’ He jumped from the fence and came to stand in front of her. ‘I have to meet my ex, Jackie. She needs my help with … something. It’s only for a few days.’

  She breathed in through her nose, then slowly exhaled. Grounding herself so she wouldn’t explode.

  ‘What was in her letter?’ She was unable to stop jealous tones coating her words, nor quell the increasing sense of doom. ‘I thought you were done with her.’

  ‘It’s not what you’re thinking.’

  ‘You have no idea what I’m thinking.’ She went to fold her arms defiantly, but he put an arm either side of her, bracing her in place. She eased in against his body. ‘What does she want now?’

  Boyd’s mouth tightened, as if he was afraid the wrong words would escape. Dusk was quickly turning to night, casting his face in a deeper shadow. She couldn’t read his eyes.

  ‘This is difficult for me, Lottie.’

  ‘You’re not making it easy for me.’ Fear came tumbling. ‘Whatever she’s written, she could be lying. It’s a ruse to get you—’

  ‘I have to go there, see for myself.’

  ‘I love you, Boyd. Move in with me. Tonight. No more of this lodger lark. I want you with me all the time.’ She knew she sounded desperate. Didn’t care. She reached out and drew him in, kissed his lips.

  He took her hand and held it. ‘Jackie told me …’

  ‘What?’

  ‘It’s hard to believe it could be true; that’s why I have to go.’ There were tears in his eyes, caught by the sparkle of the moon rising. ‘She kept it secret for years. Something I always wanted, yearned for, and she always denied me. She’s a vindictive character, so I suppose it could be a lie, but I have to know.’

  ‘What are you trying to say, Boyd?’ She wrapped her arms around his neck, looked into his eyes, willed him to tell her.

  A steely mist swept up from the lake, enveloping them. His voice was no more than a whisper, caught on the breeze.

  ‘Lottie, I dare not believe it, but if it’s true, I have a son.’

  ‘What?’ She jumped down from the fence, pushing him away. ‘She’s a liar, Boyd, don’t be taken in by her lies.’

  ‘What if it’s true?’

  ‘How could it be? She’s been gone years.’

  ‘She says she was pregnant when she left me’

  Lottie couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Would never believe anything Boyd’s ex-wife said.

  ‘What does she want from you? To show you a boy who may or may not be yours and then deny you access to him?’

  He dug into the earth with his shoe, his head bowed, then looked up at her, tears flickering the hazel in his eyes.

  ‘We’ve just rescued a little boy who never experienced the love of his biological father. Not to talk about what Kevin went through … I can’t allow that for a child of mine. You have to understand, Lottie.’

  ‘Believe me, I’m trying.’

  ‘And that little girl who was buried up on Misneach – no one even knows her name. Costello won’t tell us and there’s no one else who knows. How heartbreaking is that?’

  She nodded. Maybe Evan would remember his sister’s name in time, but she doubted it. Then she had an idea.

  ‘Before you make a huge mistake, get Jackie to send a sample of the boy’s DNA and you can it check against yours.’ If there even was a kid, Lottie thought.

  ‘What reason has she to lie?’

  ‘What reason has she to only tell you now?’

  He took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit one, the taper burning red, casting his face in a warm hue.

  ‘I thought you’d given them up,’ she said.

  ‘I need them now.’

  ‘Here, give me one.’

  He lit another and handed it over.

  She didn’t bring it to her lips, just watched it burn away in the silent swirling mist.

  ‘I’ll go with you.’

  He threw down his cigarette, crushed it into the ground. ‘That means the world to me, Lottie, but I have to do this alone.’ He placed a hand over his heart.

  ‘You’ll come back to me?’ She couldn’t lose him, not now.

  He smiled, lopsided, his ears sticking out. ‘We don’t know what the future holds for any of us, but trust me, I will come back to you.’

  He put his hands either side of her head, lowered it and feathered her hair with his lips. Then he turned, and walked away, his silhouette outlined by the moon before he disappeared from view.

  She glanced up at the house, surrounded by trees, their branches like tentacles grasping for something they might never catch. A void opened up in her heart, but she knew Boyd was doing the right thing. He always did the right thing. Always did what people asked of him. And she knew he would end up being hur
t.

  She ran back to the house to hug and hold each one of her children. She’d even hug Rose. She wanted to tell them all that she loved them more than life itself. She wanted them to know she would be around for them every day of her life.

  She believed Boyd would return to her, but for now she had to give him the space he needed. She had to let him go.

  This was one trip he had to make alone.

  If you were gripped by Little Bones and can’t wait for more Detective Lottie Parker books, sign up to Patricia Gibney’s mailing list now for the latest on new releases.

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  Books by Patricia Gibney

  The Detective Lottie Parker series

  1. The Missing Ones

  2. The Stolen Girls

  3. The Lost Child

  4. No Safe Place

  5. Tell Nobody

  6. Final Betrayal

  7. Broken Souls

  8. Buried Angels

  9. Silent Voices

  10. Little Bones

  Available in Audio

  The Detective Lottie Parker series

  1. The Missing Ones (Available in the UK and the US)

  2. The Stolen Girls (Available in the UK and the US)

  3. The Lost Child (Available in the UK and the US)

  4. No Safe Place (Available in the UK and the US)

  5. Tell Nobody (Available in the UK and the US)

  6. Final Betrayal (Available in the UK and the US)

  7. Broken Souls (Available in the UK and the US)

  8. Buried Angels (Available in the UK and the US)

  9. Silent Voices (Available in the UK and the US)

  A Letter from Patricia

  Hello, dear reader,

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  I wish to thank you for reading my tenth novel, Little Bones. If you enjoyed it and want to keep up to date with all my latest releases, just sign up at the following link.

  Sign up here!

  Your email address will never be shared, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

  The last year has been extremely difficult for everyone living through the COVID-19 pandemic, so I hope you have enjoyed being in the midst of Lottie Parker’s world.

  Thank you for sharing your time with Lottie, her family, Boyd and the team in this the latest book in the series. I hope you enjoyed Little Bones and I’d love if you could follow Lottie throughout the series of novels.

  To those of you who have already read the other nine Lottie Parker books, The Missing Ones, The Stolen Girls, The Lost Child, No Safe Place, Tell Nobody, Final Betrayal, Broken Souls, Buried Angels and Silent Voices, I thank you for your support and reviews. If Little Bones is your first encounter with Lottie, you are in for a treat when you read the previous books in the series.

  I’m always delighted when readers leave reviews, so I’d be thrilled if you could post a review on Amazon or on the site where you purchased the eBook, paperback or audiobook. It would mean the world to me. Thank you so much for the reviews received so far.

  You can connect with me on my Facebook author page, Instagram and Twitter. I also have a website, which I try to keep up to date.

  Thanks again for reading Little Bones.

  I hope you will join me for Book 11 in the series.

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  Love,

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  Patricia

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  www.patriciagibney.com

  The Missing Ones

  Detective Lottie Parker Book 1

  Buy it now!

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  The hole they dug was not deep. A white flour bag encased the little body. Three small faces watched from the window, eyes black with terror.

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  The child in the middle spoke without turning his head. ‘I wonder which one of us will be next?’

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  When a woman’s body is discovered in a cathedral and hours later a young man is found hanging from a tree outside his home, Detective Lottie Parker is called in to lead the investigation. Both bodies have the same distinctive tattoo clumsily inscribed on their legs. It’s clear the pair are connected, but how?

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  The trail leads Lottie to St Angela’s, a former children’s home, with a dark connection to her own family history. Suddenly the case just got personal.

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  As Lottie begins to link the current victims to unsolved murders decades old, two teenage boys go missing. She must close in on the killer before they strike again, but in doing so is she putting her own children in terrifying danger?

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  Lottie is about to come face to face with a twisted soul who has a very warped idea of justice.

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  Fans of Rachel Abbott, Karin Slaughter and Robert Dugoni will be gripped by this page-turning serial killer thriller, guaranteed to keep you reading late into the night.

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  Get it here!

  The Stolen Girls

  Detective Lottie Parker Book 2

  Order it now!

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  The young woman standing on Lottie’s step was a stranger. She was clutching the hand of a young boy. ‘Help me,’ she said to Lottie. ‘Please help me’.

  * * *

  One Monday morning at dawn, a young woman and her son visit the house of Detective Lottie Parker, begging for help to find a lost friend. The same day, the body of a young pregnant woman is found.

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  Could this be the same girl?

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  When another victim is discovered by the same man, with the murder bearing all the same hallmarks as the first, Lottie needs to work fast to discover how else the two were linked. Then two more girls go missing.

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  Detective Lottie Parker is a woman on the edge, haunted by her tragic past and struggling to keep her family together through difficult times. Can she fight her own demons and catch the killer before he claims another victim?

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  The Stolen Girls is a gripping and page-turning thriller that will leave you breathless. Perfect for fans of Rachel Abbott, Karin Slaughter and Robert Dugoni.

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  Get it here!

  The Lost Child

  Detective Lottie Parker Book 3

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  * * *

  They placed me in here and threw away the key. I look down at the gown they’ve put on me. I want my own clothes. I don’t know how long I’ve been here.

  * * *

  An elderly woman is found murdered in her own home, and Detective Lottie Parker and her partner Detective Boyd are called in to investigate. When they discover that the victim’s daughter is missing as well, they start to fear for the safety of the whole family…

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  Two days later as a nearby house is set on fire and with the body count rising, Lottie and her team begin to unpick a web of secrets and lies, as the murders seem to link back to a case investigated by Lottie’s father before he took his own life.

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  With little knowledge of what really happened to her father, Lottie knows this is a case that could give her some answers. But how much does she want to know? And how far is Lottie prepared to dig to uncover the truth?

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  The Lost Child is a thrilling page-turner from the bestselling author of The Missing Ones and The Stolen Girls that will have you guessing right to the very last page. Perfect for fans of Rachel Abbott, Angela Marsons and Robert Dugoni.

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  No Safe Place

  Detective Lottie Parker Book 4

  Buy it now!

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  Her bare feet stuck to the frost as she ran. She wan
ted to scream out loud, but she knew he’d find her if she made a noise. As she stopped to listen for his heavy footsteps, she wondered if she would ever make it out alive…

  * * *

  As funeral mourners stand in silence at Ragmullin cemetery, a deafening cry cuts through the air. Lying crumpled at the bottom of an open grave is the bloodied body of a young woman, and Detective Lottie Parker is called in to investigate.

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  Knowing the body can’t have been there long, Lottie wonders if it could be Elizabeth Bryne, a young woman who vanished without trace just days earlier. And with a new boss who seems to have it in for her, Lottie is under pressure to solve both cases quickly.