Taken at the Flood
Page 24
Afterwards, he put his car into gear and drove back down the River Road until reaching the turn off towards the lane leading to his house. His heart was racing and his breath rasped in his chest but he was safe, Evie was dead!
Chapter 42
Raindrops trickle down the windowpane as Henry picks up the newspaper from the floor, folds it and places it on the coffee table. The sound of the mechanical diggers increases in volume as they continue excavating the lower reaches of the woodland. A shiver runs down his spine, he thought he’d managed to erase the memory of the night he’d found Evelyn on River Road but it is still there begging to be remembered.
The noise from digger has stopped by the time Henry hears Josie’s car coming down the drive. He propels his wheelchair into the hall to tell her about the item in the newspaper but before he can say a word Josie rushes towards him, “They’ve found a body, in the woods, at River House!” she says, taking off her wax jacket and Wellington boots. Then Henry notices raindrops glistening in her hair like shards of glass, as she bends forward to kiss him.
Epilogue
The sun is sinking low on the horizon as Laura closes the journal and places it on the iron table. Claudia is spending the night at the respite retreat. Her father is drinking wine in the café on the square and she is alone, apart from the old lady who snores in the next room. The evening air blows through her hair and she shivers, afraid to move. Nothing has prepared her for this.
The Englishman with the haunted look has written it all down but it makes no difference, there is no solace to be found within these pages. She can taste the salt of her tears. She’s spent months worrying. There was no one to call, no one to explain. Leonora told her once that she liked to keep her old life and her new one separate. It was the only way she could cope with family problems. She knew about Lucas and, although she’d never met him, she understood he was a kind and generous man. However, the man her sister married after Lucas’s death was an enigma. All Leonora would say was that he was the love of her life and she would never let him know about her family – she was afraid it would change things.
Now, at last she knows the truth. The money is the Englishman’s way of appeasing his guilt. But she has to accept the part she’s unwittingly played in the events leading to Leonora’s murder also, she closes her eyes and gives way to her emotions. Anger mixes with sadness as she waits for her brother to come home from the library. Carlo will know what to do – whom they should inform.
It’s little consolation to know the murderer will be found – life will never be the same again. She used to think that knowing what had happened to Leonora would ease the pain - now she knows that nothing ever will.
The End.
Dear Reader,
If you have enjoyed Taken at the Flood, please spread the word. I would also appreciate you taking the time to leave a review on the Amazon site. With grateful thanks.
K.J.Rabane.
Details of all K.J.Rabane’s books can be found by visiting. www.kjrabane.com.
If you have enjoyed reading this book please pass on the word and if you can spare the time please leave a review on your amazon site.
If you are looking to read more from me, visit www.kjrabane.com.
Many thanks, K.J.Rabane
K.J.Rabane has written for local newspapers, had short stories published in magazines and an anthology of crime fiction, in addition to which she's written television scripts for an on-going drama series, which is ready for submission. She is also a commissioned contributor to the Food & Drink Guide and works as a freelance 'extra' for film and television productions.
Her main interest is in writing crime fiction and psychological thrillers but her novel According to Olwen falls into neither category. All her books are full of idiosyncratic characters and her crime fiction novels are plot driven.
Her poem Luminous socks was a finalist in the 2012 All Wales Poetry Competition and Who is Sarah Lawson? reached the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award 2013 Competition Quarter Finals. To check out a comprehensive list of reviews on all of K.J.Rabane's books visit www.amazon.co.uk.
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