The Anita Waller Collection
Page 72
‘Mum, I’m sixteen.’
She threw a peg at him. ‘Go,’ she said.
Phil leaned back in his chair and smiled. He felt a couple of pains in his chest, and took out his GTN spray. The pains had been there since before the rescue, and were a direct result of the rapid starvation diet he had endured while imprisoned.
‘Okay?’ Liz asked.
‘Just the usual twinges,’ he said. ‘Don’t worry.’
They sat quietly, happy in each other’s company. Liz’s phone pinged, and she picked it up.
‘Text from Rosie,’ she said.
She opened it. Melissa wants to come over early to play with Jake. Think she’s also got a crush on Dan. Will that be okay?
She immediately messaged her back. That’s fine. We’re in garden, so text when you get here, and I’ll come to the front door. Dan will be impressed that anybody could have a crush on him.
Dan and Jake returned, and she could hear them in the kitchen, Dan explaining to Jake that he had to put all the salad stuff in the fridge, and then they could have their lollipops.
Phil was holding her hand, and she felt him squeeze it. ‘Did we know they were going for lollipops? We could have had one.’
Her eyes remained closed. ‘Not sure I’ve got the energy to eat one.’
‘Maybe, you’re right.’ He glanced at her and before his courage failed him, he continued. ‘God, I love you, Liz Chambers. Shall we get married?’
Her eyes were wide open. ‘What?’
‘I’ve probably got two, maybe three months at the most. Let me make you Liz Latimer while I still can.’
‘You’ve only been divorced three days.’
‘So? Your point is?’
‘I don’t know.’ She gave a slight laugh, a nervous laugh. ‘Yes, yes, I will marry you. But what about Rosie…?’
‘I’ve already told her. Texted her last night, told her what I wanted, and she’s happy with it. She’s over me, Liz. In fact, I half think there’s someone in her life.’
‘You don’t hang about, do you?’
‘We’ll tell them when everybody’s here, then?’
‘My only worry is Dan…’
‘I’ve already asked his permission.’ Phil smiled at her. ‘I’ve covered all the bases. Oh, and I had to choose this online and send Dan to get it, but I hope you like it.’ He took a ring box from the pocket of his joggers, and handed it to her. ‘Marry me, Liz.’
The solitaire diamond sparkled in the sunlight. It sparkled even more through her tears. ‘Yes, yes, of course I will.’
He took the ring out of the box and slipped it on her finger. ‘One week, you have one week to arrange everything. We’ll organise a special licence, then you go to Meadowhall and get everything we need. Dan and I will take care of Jake.’
‘You’ve thought everything through! I love you, special man.’
He smiled, and held her hand again. ‘Now can I go back to sleep?’
Five minutes later Liz’s phone pinged again. Just parked. I’ve brought a friend as well. X
‘Looks like you might be right about Rosie. She’s brought a friend, as well as Melissa.’
Phil smiled, his eyes still closed. ‘Told you so.’
‘Just going to let them in.’
He nodded. ‘Don’t be long, wife-to-be.’
She kissed him, and walked up the garden. She threw a glance at the mess created by a sixteen-year-old and a baby eating lollipops at the kitchen table, and continued past them to the front door. Rosie and Melissa, accompanied by a tall brown-haired man, were walking down the drive.
She welcomed them, and Rosie introduced Carl. ‘We met at the book club, she explained. ‘We’re kind of seeing each other.’
‘Melissa,’ Liz said, ‘go to Dan and Jake, they’re in the kitchen eating ice lollies. I’m sure they’ll be able to find you one, as well.’
She led Rosie and Carl through to the back garden. They walked down the path, and everything felt strangely silent and serene. No sounds from the kitchen, no words from her guests. Liz crossed the lawn and bent down to kiss Phil.
He didn’t move, didn’t respond in any way. Oliver had claimed his third victim.
‘No,’ she whispered. ‘No.’
The End
Beautiful
A Stunning Debut Thriller Full of Suspense
What happens when your innocence is taken away?
Amelia is a happy six years old. Then a chance encounter with a bad man, in the park changes everything
Can she ever recover from the trauma in her childhood?
This is Amelia’s story. Follow her as she discovers that life, love and loss can be a killer. And sometimes revenge can be beautiful…
This is Anita Waller’s stunning debut.
Order Your Copy Here
Angel
Angel is the stunning sequel to international best-seller Beautiful and also a brilliant read as a stand-alone novel.
What if your mother was murdered?
And what if the man who murdered her took your daughter from you the day she was born?
This is Lauren’s life. A life plagued by the existence of one man.
For as long as she can remember, the shadow of Ronald Treverick has cast over everything Lauren holds dear.
Will she get her daughter back?
Or will Treverick triumph and destroy her family, one person at a time…
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Winterscroft
Winterscroft: a stunning suspense thriller.
When the beautiful Lavender is killed in a tragic car accident her family and fiancé Matt are left devastated.
As the year’s pass and wounds begin to heal, Matt, who has remained close to Lavender’s family, meets Beth and falls in love again.
When the happy couple announce their engagement, it sparks a series of bizarre and disturbing events.
Then when Matt and Beth make plans to wed at Lavender’s family home, Winterscroft, the frightening truth becomes apparent.
Lavender is back. And she is not happy.
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34 Days
How much can your life change in just 34 days?
Anna and Ray have been married for thirty-five years. They are parents and grandparents and appear to be a normal couple. But behind closed doors something isn’t right.
On the day of their wedding anniversary Anna makes a decision that changes everything and throws her family into turmoil. Anna will discover that she is not the only one who has suffered and by leaving Ray she sparks a series of events so awful that it might just end in murder…
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Strategy
How much can one family take?
Jenny Carbrook murdered three people to make it look as though there was a serial killer at work in Lincoln, when the only person she wanted to kill was Ray Carbrook, her father-in-law, who had raped her the week before her marriage to Mark, Ray’s son.
Jenny wrote letters detailing her crimes in order to protect everyone she loved, but was forced to go into hiding before retrieving the evidence against her. Not only did she leave the letters behind but also her young daughter, Grace.
Now Jenny has a plan, a strategy, to get the letters back. But it’s not only the letters that Jenny has in her sights…
Strategy is the follow up to the international best-seller 34 Days, it can be read as a sequel or an unmissable stand-alone.
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Acknowledgments
I am eternally grateful for several individuals who have seen me battle my way through this book; for the initial idea, my daughter, Kirsty Waller – thank you. I know you didn’t foresee all this murder and mayhem, but you started it all!
Secondly, I have to thank Barry Manilow, whose songs have carried me through the darkest parts of the story, and have lit up the good parts. Ah, Barry, you know I can’t smile without you… and another lady I have to thank is Alexa, my trusty Echo Dot,
for the brilliant way she plays whatever I want her to play.
There are a few people I need to thank for allowing me to use their names; Karen Lee, my designated number one fangirl, Lynda Checkley for being the competition winner for naming the café in the prologue, and Rick Naylor, my decorator guru, who cried at Strategy. Thank you to all three of you; I didn’t turn any of you into a corpse.
My biggest thanks go to Fred and Betsy Freeman, at Bloodhound Books, along with Alexina Golding, Sumaira Wilson and Sarah Hardy. Without the three of you being there day and night for Bloodhound authors, life would be a lot more difficult. Huge thanks also go to Morgen Bailey, my editor – I promise never to use the word ‘now’ again.
And last, but by no means least, I thank my writing buddy, Donna Maria McCarthy. We praise each other when it is merited, and bully each other when it is necessary. I salute you, Donna with the long name, and thank you. You’re my rock.
Also by Anita Waller
Psychological thrillers
Beautiful
Angel
34 Days
Strategy
Supernatural
Winterscroft
Kat and Mouse Series
Murder Undeniable ( Book 1)
Murder Unexpected ( Book 2)