Tim smiles, patting Ben on the back as if they are old friends reunited by chance on a single summer’s day. ‘My name’s John. This is my wife, Jules. And our daughter is Bonnie and that little fellow with his mum is Bertie.’
Maisie looks at him in surprise. ‘I feel like I’m meeting you all over again. I’m not sure I can get used to those names.’
He laughs. ‘Well, I hope you can. I think you might be stuck with us now.’
And Maisie is overwhelmed with joy because she feels in her very bones that their story together will not end here when they leave this park, just as it did not end in the ICU that day. It will stretch further and further into their lives, their children’s lives. Here it will begin again.
‘I hope so,’ she says.
Epilogue
Watson
Seven Months Earlier
That’s my story, John. That’s how I found you. How I fell in love with you. If you think about it, ours is a love story and this is a love affair that has lasted twenty-five years.
You’re probably wondering what changed. What you did wrong. The truth of the matter is, you didn’t do anything. You are still perfect. But the love went out of me, Blue-Eyes. It slipped away when I wasn’t looking and something else flew in.
Now, I’m standing here, thinking that perhaps you were the connection. You were the person who had to bring her to me. Do you remember when I told you my life was a series of events that led me to you, a bridge made up of moments and fleeting feelings? Well, now I see it was never you. It was her. It was always supposed to be her.
It eluded me for years. Just how special she is. How perfect. I only realised when she told me your plans. And it hit me, it hit me so very hard. She’s a good one, John, and she’s better than you. I love her.
I.
Love.
Her.
And I couldn’t let you pack up this life we made and move to Spain. I couldn’t let you take her away from me. I had to kidnap Bonnie to have the rest of you. All of you. And now you have to die for me to have them.
I don’t want you to be afraid. And I don’t want you to worry. I’ll take care of Jules. She’ll grieve, mourn you, but then she’ll realise that the man who stuck by her through her husband’s death is the man she really loves. And as for Bonnie? I’m sure she’ll be all right in the end. After all, what could be more exciting than a new father?
I have to do this, my beautiful boy. If I don’t, you’ll wake up and you’ll tell them it was me. I can’t let you because I want what’s yours, right here, right now. I want them.
Carrying you out of the cellar to my van was tricky but I managed it. Now I lie you down in the street with as much care as I can muster. It’s dark, and no one is here to see us. Even if they were, they would probably think we were just two lovers locked in an embrace. How wrong they would be, John. You look so peaceful here like this. Your eyelashes bat against your cheeks, so softly, so very softly. Dried blood matts your sweet-smelling hair. Your fingers curl forward, grasping something only you can see. Are you dreaming of me, perhaps? Holding my hand, perhaps? Hoping I’m still the man you thought I was, perhaps? Sorry, sweetie. I’m not.
I pull a photograph from my pocket and lay it on your chest, right over your heart. The photograph is of the four of us together: me, you, Jules, Miller. You’re wearing that red jumper you hated so much. I still have it, you know. I’ll keep it as a memento of our life together. I think there is a sweet finality to this one last photo, this one last note, John. Do you want to know what it says?
It says, Goodbye. And I typed in a kiss. Our last kiss.
I push my gloved hands through your hair and take a breath.
Hold it.
Let it go.
And I crack your head against the ground. The sound echoes down the street, bouncing off the walls like beats of a drum. I am careful to remove any trace of myself from your skin and clothes; I can’t have them think it was me when they find you. It has to look like you were attacked here, died here, in the dark, with the world a silent audience to your demise.
Next, I carry Bonnie down the street, carefully, carefully. In all the time we spent together, she never guessed it was me. I’ve always prided myself on ‘putting on an act’, as Mother called it. Well, I suppose I’m better at it than I thought. She will be OK, John. She’ll recover and be happy in the life I’ll make for her mother and I. We will be one big happy family. For ever.
I lay her down by your side like I am laying down my own heart. She nestles into your shoulder, dreams flickering behind her eyes. You both look so perfect. So sweet. Father and daughter reunited. Together. For one last time.
I’m not heartless, Johnny. I’m leaving you to die with your child, aren’t I? Your precious baby. I’m still the man I’ve always been. I’m Donnie Watson. Best friend. Funny guy. Good sport. And this is it. My last act of devotion to you.
…Let me tell you something I haven’t told you before…
Farewell, my beautiful boy…
Acknowledgements
Thank you to Dom Wakeford, Hannah Smith, Nia Beynon, Victoria Moynes and everyone at HQ for turning my dream into a reality. Working with this wonderful team has been an utter joy!
Thank you to my brilliant agent David H. Headley and to the fabulous Emily Glenister for their support and guidance. I’m so honoured to be a part of the D H H Literary Agency. Thank you so much!
A special thanks to Karen Sullivan and Anne Cater for their remarkable support, generosity and encouragement every step of the way. I appreciate it more than I can put into words!
A HUGE thank you to the following book bloggers for their extraordinary friendship, support, kindness, humour and encouragement. I’m so proud to be a part of the book blogging community with these wonderful people!
Shell at Chelle’s Book Reviews, Kate at Portable Magic, Abby at Anne Bonny Book Reviews, Joanna at Over The Rainbow Book Blog, Meggy at Chocolate & Waffles, Anne at Being Anne, Jen at Jen Med’s Book Reviews, Eva at Novel Deelights, Kaisha at The Writing Garnet, Anne at Random Things Through My Letterbox, Melissa at Broadbeans’ Books, Clair Boor at Have Books Will Read, Kerry at Chat About Books, LJ at On The Shelf Reviews, Rae at Rae Reads, Nicola at Orchard Book Club, Neats at The Haphazardous Hippo, Emma at Booking Good Read, Karen at My Reading Corner, Cleo at Cleopatra Loves Books, Jacob at Hooked From Page One, Karen at Hair Past A Freckle, Yvonne at Me and My Books, Alison at Ali – The Dragon Slayer, Claire Knight at A Knight’s Reads, Sarah at Sarah’s Book Reviews, Aileen at Feminizia Libros Reviews, Linda at Linda’s Book Bag, Emma at Creating Perfection, Nicola at Short Book & Scribes, Jo at Brew & Book Reviews, Zoe-Lee at Zooloo’s Book Blog, Emma at damppebbles, Hayley at Rather Too Fond of Books, Sarah at Sarah’s Vignettes, Sandra at BookLoverWorm, Linda at Books of All Kinds, Becca at If Only I Could Read Faster, Joanne at Portobello Book Blog, Sharon at Chapterinmylife, Susan at Books From Dusk Till Dawn, Laura at PageTurnersNook, Mairead at Swirl & Thread, Mary at Live and Deadly, Noelle at CrimeBookJunkie, Amy at Novelgossip, Katie at Katie’s Book Cave, Jill at On The Shelf Books, Sooz at the p. turner’s book blog, Joanne at My Chestnut Reading Tree, Susan at BooksAreMyCwtches, Lorraine at The Book Review Café, Sandie at Sandie’s Book Shelves, Drew at The Tattooed Book Geek, Abbie at Bloomin’ Brilliant Books, Nicole at BookMarkThat, Faye Rogers, Lisa at Wrong Side of Forty, Julie at A Little Book Problem, Katherine at BibliomaniacUK, Kelly at Love Books Group, Kate at The Quiet Knitter, Danielle at Books, Vertigo & Tea, Zoe at What’s Better Than Books?, Francesca at Cesca Lizzie Reads, John Fish at The Last Word Book Review, Janel at Keeper of Pages, Laura at Snazzy Books, Caryl at Mrs Blogg’s Books, Emma at Emma’s Bookish Corner, Misti at Misti Moo Book Review, Susan at The Book Trail, Nicola at Orchard Book Club, Jade at 3 Degrees of Fiction Book Blog, Kathryn at Nut Press, Chelsea at The Suspense is Thrilling Me, Amanda at mybookishblogspot, Stuart at Always Trust in Books, Nikola at Breathing Through Pages, Sam at Clues & Reviews, Abby at Crime by the Book, Na
t Marshall at the owl on the bookshelf, Jo B at Jo’s Book Blog, Jules at LittleMissNoSleep Daydreams of Books, Janet at From First Page To Last, Inge at The Belgian Reviewer, Tracy at Compulsive Readers, Jackie at Never Imitate, Noemi at Book After Book, Kate at Bibliophile Book Club, Jules Swain, Rebecca at Forward Books, Rebecca Bradley at Murder Down To A Tea, Rachel at Rachel’s Random Reads, Anne at Being Anne, Claire at BrizzleLass Books, Claire Huston at Art and Soul, Steph at Steph’s Book Blog, Wendy at Little Bookness Lane, Caroline at Bits about Books, Paul at Half Man Half Book, Margaret at bleachhouselibrary, Adele at Kraftreader, Victoria at Off-The-Shelf Books, Renee at It’s Book Talk, Sharon at Shaz’s Book Blog, David at Blue Book Balloon, Ellen Devonport, Rachel Emms at Chillers, Killers and Thrillers, Vicki at Cosy Books, Liz Barnsley at Liz Loves Books, Jill at Jill’s Book Café, Celeste at Celeste Loves Books, Kate at For Winter Nights, Steph at Crimethrillergirl and MANY more! Another huge thank you to all the incredible authors, publicists, editors, agents, Tweeters, Instagrammers, Facebook friends and more for your support! A thousand times thank you!
With thanks to Stuart Gibbon (Gibconsultancy.co.uk), author of The Crime Writer’s Casebook, who advised me on police procedure. His help and advice was invaluable. Any errors are mine alone.
Last but certainly not least, thank you to my incredible family and friends for everything they do! I always have Team Turner cheering me on – they are the absolute BEST!
Dear Reader,
I would just like to say a huge thank you for taking the time to read my book. It still seems surreal that I’m sat here – dogs curled up next to me, cup of tea in hand – typing out a letter to you to go at the back of my book. Even more surreal that this book has been published and you have taken the time to keep turning its pages. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. A few months ago, I could never have guessed I would be doing this right now. It’s literally my dream come true. Thank you so much.
In my spare time I run my own book blog, where I review both fiction and non-fiction. Psychological thrillers, chick-lit, cookbooks and memoirs, I enjoy them all. I post my reviews on Goodreads and Amazon to share the book love. And just leaving a quick review makes a huge difference. So if you have a minute to say something about my book on Amazon or Goodreads, it would mean the world. Even if it’s just a brief sentence or a single word, I’d LOVE to know what your thoughts are!
If you’d like to send me a comment, a question, a picture of the book or just say hi, I’d really like to hear from you! You can find me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. My timeline and pages are always brimming with #BookSnaps, reviews, dog photos, attempts at humour (one right here!) and bookish chat, so I hope these are things you might enjoy! You can also find my wonderful publisher, HQ Digital, on Twitter and Facebook too – they’re always posting exciting news, fabulous giveaways and gorgeous bookish pictures.
Thank you again for reading my book. I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope to hear from you soon!
Warm wishes,
Ronnie x
: @Ronnie__Turner
: @RonnieTurnerAuthor
: @ronnieturner8702
Website: www.ronnieturner.wordpress.com
Dear Reader,
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this book – we hope you enjoyed it! If you did, we’d be so appreciative if you left a review.
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About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
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HarperCollins Canada
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United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
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United States
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Lies Between Us Page 24