Like Mother, Like Daughter
Page 29
I’d pretended to go back to sleep once we’d pulled out of the driveway because I figured it would be better for Mum to believe I was oblivious. And as usual, I was right.
I was also right to call Dad when I’d given Mum a bit of time to get herself into trouble (like there was any other way that was going to go). I bet if I hadn’t, if the place hadn’t been crawling with cops when we stepped out, Mum and Amy would have decided to leave Brad there, go home and pretend that she’d just returned from a few days of wandering aimlessly. No one would ever have seen what I did. No one would know.
I mean, no one really knows. Not properly, apart from Mum and Amy. But whether people have the full truth or not, it doesn’t change the fact that they’ve seen my handiwork. They’ve witnessed my greatest achievement. And they didn’t work out that I’d done it. Is there any better feeling than that?
Well, yes. There is. It’s the moment of actually killing that tops any other sensation in the world. I know it. Even now, even without experiencing all that the world has to offer, I’m certain – it’s a feeling deep in my bones – that I’ll never feel anything like that again. At least, not till next time.
And there will be a next time.
I don’t know when. And I don’t know who. But I know that Sally will help me.
She hasn’t replied yet, but I have a PO Box all set up, registered using a stolen ID (people leave their stuff on the beach all the time when they go for a swim) and Dylan’s credit card (he never checks the statement). I don’t get a lot of free time to check it, but occasionally when Amy is at therapy with Mum I’ll pretend to wait in the library, and I’ll run over to the Post Office, playing the role of the sweet young daughter of Karen Demetriou.
There hasn’t had a therapy session for a while, but one’s coming up in a week.
I have a good feeling about that next visit to my Post Office Box. I have a good feeling about Sally. I’ve never wanted to be taken under anyone’s wing before, but I think that’s just because no one has ever been worthy.
They say you can’t choose your family, and as obvious as it is, that saying is right. My own family … I’d never choose them. The Braidwoods exist to feed me, shelter me, provide for me. Cover for me.
If I could choose my family, I know who I’d pick. Without a doubt, I’d be a Sanders. I’d choose Sally.
And I’m just one letter away from finding out if she feels the same way about me.
If you loved Like Mother, Like Daughter, don’t miss Elle Croft’s twisty, thrilling suspense debut: The Guilty Wife. Click here to start reading today!
And follow up with her second twisty psychological suspense novel, The Other Sister – Click here to buy now!
Acknowledgements
Firstly, I am so grateful to my hilarious, handsome, ever-supportive husband Brendan for his constant encouragement (even if he doesn’t actually read my books). Thank you … and I’m sorry I left you for three weeks in winter to research in the Australian sunshine.
Dad, thank you for your patience (and the constant supply of delicious food) as I edited in your living room, and for driving me through narrow dusty roads as I asked creepy questions about whether you’d hear someone screaming from there. To Tam, John, Greg and Holly, thank you for helping me track down people to talk to, for taking me to Adelaide’s best food spots, and for introducing me to Adelaide Writers’ Week. To Mum, thank you for your love and support, and the lovely beach walks. Thank you to the Croft family for always spreading the word about my books, and for your generous hospitality even when I don’t bring Brendan along.
Maree Moore, thank you for your help in finding the right person to speak to (and for driving me there). Jeanie Lucas, your knowledge has been absolutely invaluable, and I’m so grateful for your time and willingness to help me puzzle through the intricacies of adoption processes. Thanks also to Tanya Best for meeting with me and sharing your knowledge on the subject of foster care in Australia. Thank you to the SAPOL Media Team for answering my questions so quickly. Any inaccuracies in this book are all mine, and nothing to do with the incredible insight you all offered me.
Writing can be a solitary pursuit, but I’m so thankful to my author friends for keeping me social and sane, especially Niki Mackay and Victoria Selman, my beloved Crime Girl Gang, who I couldn’t do this without. Ladykillers, thank you for your collective advice, support and hilarity, which makes me smile on a daily basis. And to my friends who aren’t writers, especially Jules, Rohin, Shannon & Luke, and Jess Dante: thank you for your support and constant encouragement. I feel like I have a team of personal cheerleaders, and I couldn’t be more grateful for having you in my life.
Thank you to my incredible editor, Francesca Pathak, for seeing things I can’t, for continuing to champion my writing, and for always having time for a Beyoncé gif. Huge thanks also to Lucy Frederick and the entire talented team at Orion. This book is so much better for all of your hard work and enthusiasm. Thank you to Ariella Feiner, my wonderful agent, who always has my back, and to Molly Jamieson for taking such good care of me! I always know that I am in such great hands with you both, and I’m so thankful for that.
And finally, to my readers, and all of the bloggers and reviewers who have supported me along the way – I am so grateful to each and every one of you. Thank you.
Credits
Elle Croft and Orion Fiction would like to thank everyone at Orion who worked on the publication of Like Mother, Like Daughter in the UK.
Editorial
Francesca Pathak
Lucy Frederick
Copy editor
Jade Craddock
Proof reader
Jane Howard
Audio
Paul Stark
Amber Bates
Contracts
Anne Goddard
Paul Bulos
Jake Alderson
Design
Debbie Holmes
Joanna Ridley
Nick May
Editorial Management
Charlie Panayiotou
Jane Hughes
Alice Davis
Finance
Jasdip Nandra
Afeera Ahmed
Elizabeth Beaumont
Sue Baker
Marketing
Lucy Cameron
Production
Hannah Cox
Publicity
Alainna Hadjigeorgiou
Sales
Jen Wilson
Esther Waters
Victoria Laws
Rachael Hum
Ellie Kyrke-Smith
Frances Doyle
Georgina Cutler
Operations
Jo Jacobs
Sharon Willis
Lisa Pryde
Lucy Brem
About the Author
Elle Croft was born in South Africa, grew up in Australia and moved to the UK in 2010 after travelling around the world with her husband. She works as a freelance social media specialist and also blogs about travel, food and life in London.
Follow Elle on Twitter @elle_croft to find out more.
Also by Elle Croft
The Guilty Wife
The Other Sister
Don’t miss Elle Croft’s thrilling debut psychological suspense novel …
WIFE. MISTRESS. MURDERER.
If you were being framed for murder, how far would you go to clear your name?
‘An accomplished debut with a relentless and intense pace that kept me completely rapt and eager to find out answers. I loved the final twist’
K.L. Slater, international bestselling author of Safe With Me, Blink and Liar
Or The Other Sister: a gripping, twisty novel of psychological suspense with an ending you won’t see coming!
How far would you go to uncover your family’s deadly secret?
‘The Other Sister is an original and thrilling page-turner with an end I didn’t see coming’
Victoria Selman, author of Blood for Blood
Copyright
First published in Great Britain in 2020 by Orion Fiction,
an imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd,
Carmelite House, 50 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y 0DZ
An Hachette UK Company
Copyright © Elle Croft 2020
The moral right of Elle Croft to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
All the characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN (Trade Paperback) 978 1 4091 8722 6
ISBN (eBook) 978 1 4091 8724 0
www.orionbooks.co.uk