by D. S. Butler
Sergeant Parker tucked her hair behind her ears and then clasped her hands in front of her on the table. She shifted nervously in her chair, and I suspected she had more to tell us. Whatever it was, we probably weren’t going to like it.
“There’s more, isn’t there?” I asked.
She nodded slowly. “Yes, and this next part is going to be very hard to hear.”
I sat forward and quickly glanced at Mum. She looked as pale and nervous as I felt.
“It’s about how Kate died,” Sergeant Parker said.
“We know how she died,” I said. “She took an overdose in her car.”
Sergeant Parker nodded. “Yes, but she wasn’t alone. We don’t have any traffic camera footage to prove it, but we believe Pippa was with Kate that day. Bear in mind, this is only what Pippa has told us.”
“Please, just tell us, Sergeant,” Mum said, and I held my breath waiting for her to continue.
“Pippa said she helped Kate purchase enough tablets. As you probably know, you can only buy a certain number of paracetamols at once in UK shops. She said she sat in the car with Kate as she took the tablets and stayed with her until the end. She told her it was the right thing to do.”
“Do you believe her?” I asked. “Do you think she encouraged Kate to take her own life or is she just making this up now to hurt Daniel and us?”
Sergeant Parker shook her head. “It’s hard to say, Beth. And it is equally hard to prove after two years. I’m sorry I had to be the one to tell you this, but if it comes up later in the case against Pippa, I wanted you to be prepared and know the whole story.”
Devastated, I struggled to process what she had just told us. My hands balled into fists, and my fingernails dug into the soft flesh of my palms.
Mum stood up abruptly, the legs of her chair grating against the tiles on the kitchen floor. She turned and walked out of the kitchen, leaving me sitting at the table with Sergeant Parker.
Chapter Forty-Seven
Four weeks later, I sat beside Mum in the garden on a hot, sunny Sunday, watching Jenna organise a picnic for two of her dolls and a teddy bear. She’d had a few tears earlier because she’d had to get out of the paddling pool. Now, she was sitting happily on the grass, playing with Spike the kitten.
I had taken Mum to Luke’s veterinary surgery a few days ago, and she hadn’t been able to resist the tiny kitten with its cute mohawk. Jenna was enchanted by the tiny ball of fur and was incredibly gentle with the kitten as it climbed all over her.
We were expecting Daniel to arrive to pick her up at any moment. He’d had the past four weeks off work, and had used his compassionate leave to spend time with Jenna and decorate the spare room in his flat for her.
We had all kept a close eye on Jenna over the past few weeks, but she seemed to be getting along well. I had managed to get a job in Oxford. It was only temporary work in an office, but the day-to-day tasks were interesting, and it allowed me to help out with the mortgage while Mum decided what to do with the house.
I leant back in the garden chair, enjoying the sensation of the warm sun on my skin as a couple of swifts swooped overhead and bees buzzed over the fuchsias in the flowerbed next to me. I smiled as I listened to Jenna’s laughter. I would never get bored of that sound.
“How was Marjorie?” I asked Mum, who had been to visit her yesterday.
“She’s much better. She is still taking it easy and very worried about Dawn, though,” Mum said as she adjusted the cushion behind her back.
Dawn was still being investigated by the police, and no one really knew whether she would be charged. It all depended on whether the CPS believed they had enough evidence against her. Pippa wasn’t exactly a reliable witness. On the other hand, the evidence against Pippa was overwhelming, and we had been assured by Inspector Sharp and Sergeant Parker that Pippa would be going to prison for a very long time.
At times like this, watching Jenna play happily in the garden, I couldn’t help thinking about Kate. It was hard not to spend all my time wishing she was here with us. But life had to go on.
Mum had stopped locking the electric gate at the front during the day. She was more relaxed now that she wasn’t living on her own.
Not long after Daniel had collected Jenna, there was a knock on the side gate.
“Are you expecting anyone?” I asked Mum as I stood up.
She shook her head, and I walked across the garden to see who it was. When I opened the gate, I saw Luke and his brother Phil. Luke grinned at me, and Phil gave me a polite nod.
“Come on, Mrs F.,” Luke called out to Mum. “We’ve come to take you to lunch.”
Mum flushed with pleasure and got up to take Spike indoors. “Sounds lovely. Just give me a minute.”
I went inside to grab my handbag but couldn’t resist taking a backward glance at Phil. He seemed like a different person. He stood up straighter and looked less tense. Guilt was a terrible emotion. I should know. But today, I felt positive about the future. It seemed like guilt had lessened its grip on Phil, too.
Mum and I walked back out into the garden, and I locked the back door behind us. We joined Luke and Phil and walked out of the side gate, along the path, towards the lane.
“This is just like old times,” Mum said smiling at Phil.
Almost, I thought, wishing Dad and Kate could be with us.
Luke must have caught the expression on my face because he reached out to put an arm around my shoulders. “It’s a new start, a chance to make new memories.”
Mum and Phil walked slightly ahead of us down the lane, chatting happily, and I smiled up at Luke.
“I think you’re right.”
We couldn’t go back, but there was a lot to look forward to. We had Jenna back, and for the first time in a while, I felt like I was ready to face the future.
A note from D. S. Butler
Thank you for reading Lost Child! If you enjoyed this book, please give it a review on Amazon. Your kind words and encouragement help all authors, and reviews help other readers find books they’ll enjoy.
This book is a departure for me. I usually write police procedurals and gritty East End stories. Lost Child is different. When I first conjured up the characters of Beth and Jenna, I knew this story would be unlike anything I’d written before. It’s certainly a change in direction, but I hope you like the book.
Next up for me, is a Dani Oakley novel and then I’ll be working on another D. S. Butler book.
If you would like to be one of the first to find out when my next book is available, you can sign up for my new release email:
www.dsbutlerbooks.com/newsletter
All the best,
Dani
www.dsbutlerbooks.com
Also by D S Butler
Deadly Obsession
Deadly Motive
Deadly Revenge
Deadly Justice
Deadly Ritual
Deadly Payback
Deadly Game
If you would like to be informed when the next book is released, sign up for the newsletter:
http://www.dsbutlerbooks.com/newsletter/
Written as Dani Oakley
East End Trouble
East End Diamond
East End Retribution
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank my readers for their support and encouragement.
My thanks, too, to all the people who read the story and gave helpful suggestions and to Chris, who, as always, supported me.
To Nanci, my editor, thanks for always managing to squeeze me in when I finally finish my books!
And last but not least, my thanks to you for reading this book. I hope you enjoyed it.
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