Blood Mother: Flesh and Blood Trilogy Book Two (Flesh and Blood series)
Page 41
She looked up at him, confused. ‘What is it? And where’s your signature?’
He seemed put out.
‘I’m signing it – what’s the matter, don’t you trust me?’
She felt bad for even asking, so signed in three places and he whipped the papers away.
No wonder he’d covered the paper, the lying fraud; he’d been making a total kipper out of her. Babs’ mind slammed back to Stan’s attack. He’d laughed his head off, claiming she was a fool for not figuring it out. Was it these houses? He was having revenge on her from the grave.
In desperation Babs spat out, ‘I never realised what I was doing. I didn’t know they were knocking shops. He had me over a barrel. I never—’
The lawyer placed his hand on her arm to calm her. ‘I don’t know about any knocking shops but the properties are in your name. May I ask you another question?’
Babs nodded reluctantly. ‘You were the cleaner for two houses in a Bancroft Square in Mile End?’
Babs nodded.
‘I’ve discovered that the owner was a management company—’
‘Yeah, I know that. Hardly anyone lived there, but I didn’t care as long as I got my wages on time.’
‘That management company was owned by Stanley Miller.’ Babs felt sick. ‘Oh, I get it.’ She gritted her teeth. ‘He said he got a sick thrill knowing I was on my knees scrubbing the floors of the houses. His houses. That’s why I got the job, just so my ex-hole could laugh his twat off at me still grafting on his say-so.’
The lawyer shook his head. ‘We’ve established that the signature on the deeds is yours, yes?’ Babs nodded. ‘You need to hang onto that. OK?
‘Stanley Miller may have given you the job to laugh at you, but there was something much deeper going on. The houses were his insurance policy if he ever needed money, which we now know he did. Getting your two daughters to sign was just a cover. It was your signature he needed. Your signature, which would sign both houses back to him. Once that was done, he could sell them and get the money.’
Babs wiped her hand against her forehead as things started slotting into place. Mel saying nine and ten in the hospital. Those were the numbers of the houses she cleaned. Had Mel been trying to tell her what Stan was after? Had Stan attacked Mel to shut her up? That was how Stan had got in while she was having that ding-dong with Jen and Tiff; the bastard had a key. Flippin’ hell.
This was doing her head in. ‘I’m not in more trouble, am I?’
He quickly reassured her. ‘No. Quite the reverse. As you of all people will know, both houses are substantial Georgian properties in a very sought-after square ...’
Stan had been right after all. The East End had risen again.
‘And very valuable.’
Babs turned to him in disbelief. ‘Valuable?’
‘Mrs Miller, you may be facing a murder charge but you’re also a millionaire.’
Acknowledgements
To my Hodder sisters, Ruth, Rebecca, Alice, Fleur and Keshini. What a team we are! And where would I be without my agent, Amanda? Nowhere! She’s a force of nature. A huge shoutout to the bloggers and reviewers who have taken the time to put my work on the crime map.
Thank you!
Thank you for reading Blood Mother. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that you enjoyed it. If you did I’d love to hear about it – you can get in touch with me by:
Email: dredamitchell@yahoo.co.uk
Twitter: @DredaMitchell
Facebook: Dreda Say Mitchell
I always love to be linked to reviews and ratings on your blogs or online!
If you enjoyed BLOOD MOTHER, look out for the gripping new novel in the FLESH AND BLOOD trilogy
BLOOD DAUGHTER
They say blood is thicker than water . . . but that’s not going to stop it being spilled.
Coming August 2017
Table of Contents
About the Author
Title Page
Imprint Page
Dedication
Contents
Prologue
Part One: 1972
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty
Thirty-One
Thirty-One
Thirty-Two
Thirty-Three
Thirty-Four
Thirty-Five
Thirty-Six
Thirty-Seven
Thirty-Eight
Part Two: 1978
Thirty-Nine
Forty
Forty-One
Forty-Two
Forty-Three
Forty-Four
Forty-Five
Forty-Six
Forty-Seven
Forty-Eight
Forty-Nine
Fifty
Fifty-One
Fifty-Two
Fifty-Three
Fifty-Four
Fifty-Five
Fifty-Six
Fifty-Seven
Fifty-Eight
Fifty-Nine
Sixty
Sixty-One
Part Three: 2003
Sixty-Two
Sixty-Three
Sixty-Four
Sixty-Five
Sixty-Six
Sixty-Seven
Sixty-Eight
Sixty-Nine
Seventy
Seventy-One
Seventy-Two
Seventy-Three
Seventy-Four
Seventy-Five
Seventy-Six
Acknowledgements
If you enjoyed BLOOD MOTHER