Mindsight
Page 28
There’s talk that Alice may have a personality disorder and I suppose that’s one way to explain what she did. But I remember what she told me that night and I think it started all those years ago when we were kids. It was so important to her that Mum and Dad saw her as the good girl: their own real child. The one who always behaved well – so different from me.
One thing I’ll never know is when my little sister’s love for me turned to hatred, but then I doubt she knows that herself.
I do believe she loves Tom and it’s odd because in a way I’m still grateful to her for bringing him up so well, helping to make him the kind of young man Steve would have been proud to call his son.
It’s been hard for Tom and it’s going to get harder still for a while. I’ve told him most of the truth and the way he reacted makes me wonder if he had some instinctive understanding of the situation all along. There’s been publicity, of course, and when the trial happens it could get worse. My solicitor says it should be easy enough after that to get my own conviction overturned, although that doesn’t seem very important just now.
I’m in touch with Mr Hillier and he tells me Jacob Downes made a deal with the police. Because of his help in identifying Alice, and my evidence that he probably saved my life after the crash, he won’t be charged with perjury. Mr Hillier is trying to find him work.
Beldon House is being demolished and I plan to use some of Dad’s money to help released prisoners. Nic and I have become even greater friends and she’s been helping Tom and me to look for somewhere to live. I think we may have found the cottage I always used to dream of. It’s not far from the flat, so Molly and Nic can visit all the time. Nic seems much happier these days and I can’t help smiling when I think of her.
And then of course there’s Kieran.
Even in the cold up here on the hill, a glow goes through me when he comes into my mind, although if I’m honest he’s rarely out of it these days. Tom really likes him and keeps suggesting he should live with us when we move. But Kieran agrees it’s too soon. He knows I need some time with my son: just the two of us.
I push my hands deep into my pockets and walk down towards the boys and, as his kite takes to the air, I hear Tom laughing.
Acknowledgements:
I owe grateful thanks to many people, but especially to Moira McDonnell and Bryan Taylor for cheering me on all the way.
To Allan Guthrie for great advice and support over the years. To Sheila Bugler: my constant inspiration on the journey. To Jo Reed, Claire Whatley, Karen Milner, Amanda Hodgkinson, JJ Marsh, Marlene Brown, Liza Perrat, Lorraine Mace, Tricia Gilbey, Barbara Scott Emmett, Justine Windsor, June Whitaker and all the talented folk at the Writing Asylum.
To my editor at Harper Collins, Kate Stephenson, for her wisdom and enthusiasm.
And, above all, thanks and love go to my sister, Sue Curran, and to my son, Jack Farmer.
About the Author
Chris Curran worked as an actress and scriptwriter in alternative theatre for several years. She has had short stories published in women’s magazines and she reviews fiction for various publications and blogs. Mindsight is her debut novel, and in 2013 an early draft of the novel was shortlisted for the Yeovil Literary Prize.
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