The Evil Within
Page 33
‘David’s dead,’ Jed said.
‘What? How?’ I was aware of Lucy slipping back into the room and joining us at the kitchen table, but my eyes were on Jed. ‘I mean, how can he be?’
‘Darcy found me as I was trying to get back to Emma’s. She patched me up and I think seeing what David had made Miriam do she realised enough was enough. I drove her up to Goldsmere and she gave permission for them to turn off the life support.’
‘Can they just do that?’ Lucy asked.
‘Apparently. Darcy and Miriam had him moved into private care because the doctors at the hospital wanted to let him slip away more than a year ago. Over the past few months the doctors at Goldsmere have been saying the same, but Miriam wouldn’t hear of it and I guess now we know why.’
‘So, they just did it last night?’
Jed nodded. ‘Darcy had already put the wheels in motion, that’s why she’d been up at Goldsmere the day you saw her. The hospital was only waiting for her final say-so and last night she wasn’t about to be refused. To be honest, she was desperate. When she saw what Miriam had done to me, she was terrified of what she might do to you and Lucy. She hoped if he was dead, he’d no longer have a hold over Miriam.’
‘Where’s Miriam?’ I asked.
Jed and Emma exchanged another look and I could tell by their expressions that this wasn’t going to be good news. ‘Don’t tell me – she’s gone to the police and I’m going to be done for assault.’
‘She’s dead,’ Jed said, his voice not much more than a whisper.
‘She can’t be,’ Lucy said, looking from me to Jed and Emma then back again.
‘They found her this morning. She’d jumped from the cliff above Saint’s Bay.’
‘Oh, shit.’
‘We think she couldn’t bear to go on without David, he’d been with her so long,’ Emma said. ‘Darcy told Jed that Miriam and David had been very close long before his accident.’
I looked down into my tea. I doubted Darcy realised how close – or then again, maybe she did.
‘Poor Darcy,’ Lucy said.
‘To be honest, I think it was almost a relief for her,’ Jed said. ‘She told Jim and me that ever since David’s “accident” Miriam has been becoming increasingly unstable.’
‘Do you truly believe Miriam was possessed by David?’ Lucy asked, giving me an apologetic look.
Jed stared into his coffee cup for a few seconds and when he looked up, he suddenly looked very old. ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘Yes, I truly do.’
When I saw Jed and Emma out, I watched them walk up the path and I noticed Jed put his arm around her waist, which made me smile. He deserved to be happy, they both did.
‘So,’ Lucy said when I returned to the kitchen, ‘do you think it’s all over?’
‘I hope so,’ I said.
‘I’m sorry if it appeared I didn’t believe you, it’s just that it was all so weird. I mean, seeing dead people.’
‘You saw Krystal and Benji,’ I said.
‘And the reverend.’ She shook her head as though she couldn’t believe it herself. ‘At first I thought I was hallucinating, but when I realised you could see them as well …’ She shrugged. ‘I didn’t really know what to think.’ She gave me a crooked smile and got up to throw her arms around my neck. ‘But I do know it’s something I’d prefer to forget.’
‘You and me both,’ and with that I took her by the hand and led her back upstairs to the bedroom.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
I stood staring at myself in the bathroom mirror for some time. I was actually looking pretty good considering the battering I’d had from Miriam. She’d been one strong old bird. It was a shame about her.
But all that was over and done with and I’d already decided that today was going to be the first day of the rest of my life. I might even put an offer in for the cottage. I’d think on it.
I smiled at my reflection. I could get used to this shaggy-haired beach boy look. I switched off the light and padded back to the bedroom.
Soft grey morning light was beginning to creep into the room and the birds were announcing the dawn with their melodic chorus. Lucy lay on her side, her lips slightly parted. She was such a pretty, young thing.
I stood there just drinking in the birdsong, the musky smell of sex and Lucy’s sweet expression, and the rise and fall of her breasts.
Yes, life was definitely looking up and she and I were going to have so much fun.
Little bitch.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First off, I would like to thank Sebastien de Castell for his generosity in introducing me to his agent, the lovely Heather Adams. Heather also deserves a big thank you for her time and patience and for taking such good care of me and my writing career. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my editor, Kelly Smith, and all the folk at Allison & Busby for their faith in me and The Evil Within.
As with most things, family is very important and my significant other is the best, particularly when it comes to patience. Once I’m in mid flow absolutely nothing gets done except for my writing, so a huge thank you, Howard, for your understanding and support.
Finally, I must mention my mum and dad, Ruby and Jack, and my brother Michael. Sadly, they had all passed on before I became published, but they were always supportive in everything I ever did and would be so very pleased and proud of my new-found career.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
S. M. Hardy grew up in south London and worked in banking for many years. She has now given up the day job to allegedly spend more time with her husband; he, however, has noticed that an awful lot more writing appears to be going on. She currently lives in Devon. The Evil Within is her first paranormal mystery novel.
smhardy.co.uk @SueTingey
By S. M. Hardy
Dark Devon Mysteries
The Evil Within
Evil Never Dies
COPYRIGHT
Allison & Busby Limited
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London W1F 8AN
allisonandbusby.com
First published in Great Britain by Allison & Busby in 2020.
This ebook edition published in Great Britain by Allison & Busby in 2020.
Copyright © 2020 by S. M. Hardy
The moral right of the author is hereby asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
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 without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent buyer.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978–0–7490–2550–2
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