3 Bad Deeds

3 Bad Deed Myriam Wallace & Linda Innes First published in 2023 by SpellBound Books Copyright © Myriam Wallace & Linda Innes The moral right of the author to be identified as the owner of this Work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988. 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, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, locations and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or any actual places, business establishments, locations or events is purely coincidental. Contents Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Epilogue Prologue Kevin Ward’s eyelids fluttered and opened. The lights above his head were bright, almost painfully so, and his vision was blurred. Someone was lifting his arm, and it suddenly hurt like hell. He gave out an involuntary moan. “Sorry, Mr Ward – Kevin… I just need to change your IV,” said a woman’s voice. “Are you in pain? I can give you a little more morphine if you are…” Kevin’s brow furrowed in confusion. “What?” he groaned, his voice husky from lack of use. He struggled to lift his head, to focus his eyes. All he could see were bright lights that made the images around him swim. A hazy figure seemed to be standing beside him, even though he was lying down. Why was he lying down? And spasms of pain shocked him when he tried to move. “What’s going…?” he started, then let out another rumble of agony. “Where am I? Oh… it hurts!” “King’s Hospital,” the woman said. “I’m Sharon, your nurse today. There. I’ve just upped your painkiller a little to make you more comfortable.” “Why?” Kevin murmured, in vague bewilderment. “What happened?” “You were in a car accident, Kevin. Just relax.” I am dreaming, thought Kevin, hazily. This is a dream. Or a nightmare. I’ll just… As the morphine flooded his system, Kevin lost consciousness, a frown of consternation engraved on his face. § “Kevin. Kevin!” There was a voice in his dream, cutting through his peaceful sleep. He had been sailing on smooth, calm seas, the wind in his hair, enjoying himself, and he was reluctant to leave this soothing landscape. “Kevin!” A vaguely familiar female voice. He wanted to stay in the blissful comfort; but despite himself, the voice was reeling him in, away from safety, like the call of a mythical siren luring seamen to their death. Those seductive voices forced men to steer their ships into the treacherous shallows and ground them on the rocks, destroying their vessel, drowning the men. But oh, those women, so hard to resist… “Kevin!” Kevin opened his eyes and blinked, refocusing. His wife’s face swam into view, crumpled with distress, her eyes red and swollen from crying. He suddenly remembered where he was. Hospital. Maggie must be upset that he was hurt and in hospital. Kevin’s smacked his dry lips to speak, to reassure her: “Maggie – it’s OK. I’m fine!” Her face transformed into a vision of fury, inches away from his eyes. She struggled to keep her voice down, spitting out the words in a half-whisper: “You’re fine! You fucking bastard! That’s OK, then, is it?” Kevin’s mouth gaped in surprise. “What?” “You’re fine!” She broke down, sobbing. “While Jack’s dead!” Kevin didn’t understand. Why was she saying this? Their son, Jack – dead? “No! No – can’t be! How?” he asked, in shock. “How can that be?” It made no sense to him whatsoever. Was he still dreaming? Was this a nightmare? “You fucking bastard!” She banged her clenched fist down onto Kevin’s stomach, and he winced, more with surprise than pain, since all his pain had been pleasantly soothed away by the morphine. “Drinking!” she squealed. “You! Fucking drinking and driving!” Kevin’s mouth fell open as he struggled to remember. What the hell had happened? He didn’t dare ask – Maggie’s fury was palpable; so, he lay, silent and frozen in fear and horror. “Yes!” Maggie went on, “the police said your blood tests were under the legal limit – so you can’t be prosecuted!” Her bloodshot eyes gleamed with hatred. “But you’d still been drinking. I warned you about that – and now, Jack’s dead!” A sob caught in Maggie’s throat, and she sat flapping her red-manicured nails in front of her face until she recovered herself. He had never seen such sadness in her eyes, and it tortured him almost as much as the news she’d told him that Jack was dead. Maggie gave a deep, ragged sigh that broke Kevin’s heart, then intimately leant in towards him and he felt her warm breath on his cheek. For a moment, he thought she might kiss him. She came even closer, her hot breath in his ear, and then, she muttered with considerable venom, “You should have died. Not Jack. You hear?” This nightmare must be real. Kevin’s eyes filled with tears. He still didn’t understand, but he accepted that he must have done this thing, too terrible to contemplate. As she stood up, Maggie snarled through bared teeth, “I hate you. I never want to see you again.” “I’m… sorry,” he mumbled, numb with shock. “Sorry?” she scoffed. Kevin knew it was inadequate – wouldn’t get anywhere near making amends. “I’m so… sorry!” “You fucking will be!” Maggie said under her breath, jabbing a finger in Kevin’s face so aggressively that her nail caught his nose. “Because it wasn’t just Jack you murdered. You killed Toby, too!” She turned to leave, and suddenly, the door burst open, releasing an avalanche of emotion as two