Author/Uploaded by Anthea Fraser
Contents Cover Also by Anthea Fraser from Severn House Title Page Copyright Character List Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fi...
Contents Cover Also by Anthea Fraser from Severn House Title Page Copyright Character List Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Also by Anthea Fraser from Severn House The Rona Parish mysteries (in order of appearance) BROUGHT TO BOOK JIGSAW PERSON OR PERSONS UNKNOWN A FAMILY CONCERN ROGUE IN PORCELAIN NEXT DOOR TO MURDER UNFINISHED PORTRAIT A QUESTION OF IDENTITY JUSTICE POSTPONED RETRIBUTION Other titles BREATH OF BRIMSTONE PRESENCE OF MIND THE MACBETH PROPHECY MOTIVE FOR MURDER DANGEROUS DECEPTION PAST SHADOWS FATHERS AND DAUGHTERS THICKER THAN WATER SHIFTING SANDS THE UNBURIED PAST A TANGLED THREAD SINS OF THE FATHERS THE TIES THAT BIND TENDRILS OF THE PAST Anthea Fraser This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly. First world edition published in Great Britain and the USA in 2023 by Severn House, an imprint of Canongate Books Ltd, 14 High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1TE. Trade paperback edition first published in Great Britain and the USA in 2023 by Severn House, an imprint of Canongate Books Ltd. This eBook edition first published in 2023 by Severn House, an imprint of Canongate Books Ltd. severnhouse.com Copyright © Anthea Fraser, 2023 All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. The right of Anthea Fraser to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs & Patents Act 1988. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library. ISBN-13: 978-1-4483-0978-8 (cased) ISBN-13: 978-1-4483-0991-7 (trade paper) ISBN-13: 978-1-4483-0990-0 (e-book) This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Except where actual historical events and characters are being described for the storyline of this novel, all situations in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is purely coincidental. This eBook produced by Palimpsest Book Production Limited, Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scotland CHARACTER LIST Cicely Fairfax Theo, her son Imogen, Theo’s wife Abby and Mia Fairfax, Cicely’s granddaughters Charles and Sarah Drummond, the girls’ parents Lily and Luke, their friends Richard Coulson Julia, his wife Adam and Jamie, their sons Nina Phillips, college nurse Rob, her husband Danny, their son Rose Linscott Fleur Tempest, her daughter Owen Tempest, her son-in-law and deputy head of St Catherine’s College James Monroe, master at the college Guy Burnside Anya, his wife Suzanne (Suzie) Maybury, bookshop owner Terry, her partner Madelaine Peel, a freelance journalist Steve, her friend and fellow journalist ONE Dorset, April, fifteen years ago The bodies were found by a mother on the school run. ‘Abby usually comes running down the path as I draw up,’ said Mrs Emily Barton, aged 34. ‘I waited a moment or two and when she didn’t appear I went up the path and rang the bell. There was no reply, which was strange; then I noticed a light on in the front room. So I looked through the window and – I saw them.’ Dorset, February/March, fifteen years ago ‘Sarah!’ Sarah Drummond loaded the last of the carrier bags into her boot and closed it before turning. And caught her breath. God, it was Luke! How was she supposed to greet him? Once it would have been an enthusiastic hug, but those days were long gone. Thanks to Lily. ‘I thought it was you!’ he said as he reached her and bent to kiss her cheek. ‘How are you? How’s the family?’ She smiled a little stiffly. ‘Fine, thanks. And you?’ ‘Oh, same old, same old. Our lives are so hectic we hardly ever meet! Ships that pass in the night! How’s old Charles? We see each other occasionally at the golf club, but only for the passing word.’ ‘He’s fine,’ Sarah said. Then, making an effort, ‘He’s been made a partner in the firm.’ ‘That’s great! Do congratulate him for me!’ He paused, eyeing the empty trolley. ‘Suppose I park that for you and we go for a coffee and catch up?’ ‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ she said quickly. ‘I have to collect Mia from nursery.’ ‘Ah. Well, mustn’t keep you, but I can at least relieve you of your trolley.’ He gently removed it from her grasp. ‘Good to have seen you, Sarah, and regards to Charles.’ Bloody Lily! she thought, as she climbed into the car. She knew Charles regretted losing Luke’s friendship – or at least the manifestations of it – and it seemed Luke felt the same. As she drove to the nursery her mind drifted back over the years. She and Lily had been room-mates at university, where they’d shared clothes and confidences and covered for each other over missed essays. And a year or two later it was to Lily she first confided that she was falling for Charles. Significantly, it seemed now, it was as they were discussing marriage that an unexpected divergence of opinion emerged, Lily stating categorically that she didn’t intend to have children. Sarah, who’d always adored babies, was taken aback. ‘Really?’ she’d exclaimed. ‘Why ever not?’ Lily had shrugged. ‘Not part of my life plan,’ she’d replied, and refused, then or later, to be drawn further. And Sarah, having told herself Lily would change her mind when she met the right man, soon forgot the comment. Within the