Faraway Eyes_A fast-paced romantic murder mystery Read online

  Table of Contents

  Faraway Eyes

  Chapter 1 – Being Mum

  Chapter 2 – An Evening to Remember

  Chapter 3 – Finding Grandma

  Chapter 4 – The Applebys

  Chapter 5 – A Proposal

  Chapter 6 – An Unpleasant Meeting

  Chapter 7 – A Change of Heart

  Chapter 8 – Out of the Frying Pan

  Chapter 9 – A Private Eye

  Chapter 10 – Up and Away

  Chapter 11 – A Change of Season

  Chapter 12 – Jacob’s Rest

  Chapter 13 – A Disquieting Chat

  Chapter 14 – Caught by a Spider

  Chapter 15 – The Old Farmhouse

  Chapter 16 – A Confession

  Chapter 17 – An Arrival

  Chapter 18 – A Mysterious Find

  Chapter 19 – Down Amongst the Roses

  Chapter 20 – A Sad Outcome

  Chapter 21 – Here Comes the Bride

  Chapter 22 – A Forced Confinement

  Chapter 23 – A Difficult Encounter

  Chapter 24 – No Way Out

  Chapter 25 – An Ally

  Chapter 26 – A Race Against Time

  Chapter 27 – A Gruesome Find

  Chapter 28 – Words From a Dead Man

  Chapter 29 – That Damn Spider

  Chapter 30 – Homeward Bound

  Chapter 31 – Home at Last

  Chapter 32 – A Surprise Visitor

  Chapter 33 – A Romantic Evening

  Chapter 34 – The Final Act

  Epilogue

  THANK YOU!

  Also by Evelyn Harrison

  Acknowledgements

  Contact details

  Published by

  Faraway Eyes

  A Willow Green Mystery

  by

  Evelyn Harrison

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental. Copyright © 2018 Evelyn Harrison. Published By Raven Crest Books.

  Book Description

  This is the fifth book from the series of ‘Willow Green Mysteries’.

  Monsters come in many guises. The fact is you may be unaware you’re in the presence of a monster until it’s too late!

  Will this be the year widowed Samantha Adams, finally emerges from the grief of widowhood? It hadn’t gone away; she had merely learned to live without Michael.

  More than a year and a half had passed since Sam first met DCI Alex Walker in Tenerife. Unbeknown to Alex, he had recently become the centre of her romantic thoughts. But did he feel the same way? Following a revelation from him, seemingly not.

  Wanting to put continents between them after Alex’s painful news, Sam and her friend, Kate, take up the challenge from housekeeper, Polly, of confirming whether Polly’s estranged husband, Daniel Brennan, is dead or alive.

  Mystery, romance and murder are rife in this fifth and final book, in the Willow Green Mysteries series; an unforgettable tale of joy and heartbreak.

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  Chapter 1 – Being Mum

  February 2017

  She gazed down at him with undeniable love, her curly haired toddler son Harry, who had brought so much happiness to her life, finally lay sleeping peacefully in his cot. Straightening up, Sam Adams tiptoed towards the open door, closing it behind her, just enough for a small shard of light to find its way through. Making her way to the top of the stairs she took hold of the bannister before carefully descending the steep, narrow staircase, trying her best to avoid the creaking of the ancient boards.

  There was no doubt she was exhausted, being a widowed mum, there was not much downtime these days. She glanced around her sitting room strewn with toys; Christmas presents, mostly gifted by family and friends, now filled the once comparatively empty space. Honeysuckle Cottage certainly seemed to be getting smaller by the day. When she moved in to her new sanctuary, a year and a half ago, she hadn’t envisaged staying so long. Then, when Harry came along, thoughts of finding a place to buy rather than rent was no longer a priority. Now, though, she had to face the fact that her little thatched home was becoming very cramped. The week before, she had taken herself to County Properties, the only estate agents in Willow Green High Street. A very enthusiastic, suited young man had sat her down and given her the hard-sell – after she had informed him she was a cash buyer – before handing her half a dozen leaflets of houses to scan through, ‘in her own time’. However, none of them had grabbed her or stood out from the rest. She would simply have to be patient, until the right property came on the market.

  Re-adjusting her scrunchy, keeping her thick dark brown hair pulled back from her face, Sam bent down and began the process of putting her room in order. It had been over a month and a half since Christmas, which had been quiet, compared to previous years, with only her mother Sally, her brother Nick and his girlfriend, Cristina Marriott, around the festive table. Nevertheless it had been a lovely few days, especially as Harry had found his feet several weeks before and believed the entire house was his to be explored. Now everything had to be cleared from his reach. Tottering around on his unsteady legs, arms splayed to balance his small frame, Sally had followed him around like a mother hen – terrified he was going to hurt himself.

  To be honest, the whole family was glad to see the back of 2016. The trial of Hadley Wainwright, accused of the premeditated murder of Sam’s husband Michael and the attempted murder of his wife Victoria – Sam’s childhood friend – had gone on for months. It had been a relief to everyone when he was finally found guilty and given a life sentence. It wasn’t long after the verdict that Victoria filed for divorce. On the other hand, seeing her brother standing in the dock, not only accused of conspiring to commit her husband’s murder, but also perjury in the Coroner’s Court, was a nightmare scenario. Even so, it was a process he had to go through. When he was finally found innocent of the conspiracy to murder charge, somehow the fine for perjury seemed, under the circumstances, a just result. Cristina had stood by him during the whole ordeal and even the solicitors firm they worked for, supported him and kept his job open. Now, at last, they could all move on.

  A week after Christmas, Sam had joined her friends for a New Year’s Eve party at Willow Green Village Hall, it had been the first time she had been out for ages. It wasn’t that there was a lack of people lining up to look after Harry – she had no problems finding a baby sitter. In fact, her friends Claire and Digger West, were always at the top of the list, vying with her mother for that role. No, it was because every time she left him, she felt an overwhelming feeling of guilt.

  It had been a wonderful evening – she even got a bit tipsy. At midnight everyone went around kissing each other, a tradition the whole room seemed to be keen to keep alive. One of her closest friends, Alex Walker, had been her first snog of the night. She realised after all this time, they had never actually kissed on the lips before, at least not passionately. How had that happened? This chiselled jawed detective, whom she had always kept at arm’s length, was still around, even after she had made it very clear from the beginning that she wasn’t able to give him anything more than friendship. So, when the chimes of Big Ben resonated around the room, she had found herself in Alex’s arms, and for the first time, she actually ached for him to kiss her. The moistness o
f his lips made her entire body tingle with desire. It was as if he had awoken her from a deep sleep, like Sleeping Beauty and her Prince. She longed for more, but it was not to be, she had no option other than to share him with all the other women eager to plant their lips on her bachelor friend.

  After that kiss, nothing else significant happened. The party finished around two, she called a taxi and went home – on her own. There had been no sign of Alex for at least an hour prior to the party breaking up; she didn’t even see him leave, to say she was upset about that scenario would be an understatement.

  Falling into bed in the early hours of New Year’s Day, her sleep was restless and by the first light of morning she had decided to make three New Year’s resolutions and wrote them down in a notebook, which somehow made them official. The first was to find a house to buy, the second to start dating and the third was something that had been more prominently on her mind lately, was to try and find Michael’s birth mother.

  Slumping down on the sofa, Sam looked at her phone. There was a message from Alex, ‘See you Thursday’, was all it said. She daydreamed, not for the first time, about dancing with him at the party. He had held her close as they moved around the floor, so close she could feel his breath on her neck. It had been two years since the death of her beloved husband Michael, two years of celibacy and up until now that’s how she wanted her life to be. However, this year she was feeling different, not because she wanted to forget Michael, but she felt it was finally time to move on. The bottom line was she was beginning to crave having someone in her life, not just as a companion but in the physical sense as well; she yearned to feel the intimate touch of a man. Not just any man though – Alex was the only man she truly cared about and if she was honest with herself, she had been fighting with her growing emotions towards him since the minute they met. She texted back, ‘Yes, see you Thursday, I’ll order pizza’ and without a second thought, added a kiss.

  It had been a conversation Sam had with her friend Beth Oliver, a few days before Christmas, which had started her thinking she was ready for a romantic attachment. Beth was Josie and Max Forrester’s daughter and the owner of The Rose Cottage Tea Rooms in the village and once a week Sam popped in with Harry, for a chat, a pot of tea and one of Beth’s delicious cakes.

  Flicking her recently highlighted short brown hair, behind her ear, Beth lifted the pink and white striped china teapot and commenced pouring out the Earl Grey into matching cups and saucers.

  “I don’t understand how you’ve waited so long, you do realise he’s gorgeous don’t you, both inside and out?” Beth pointed out. “He won’t wait around forever.”

  “I know,” Sam replied, blushing slightly. “To be honest I was attracted to him the moment we met, but Michael … Michael keeps getting in the way.”

  “Sam, Michael would want you to be happy. You’re still young you’ve got your whole life in front of you, and you know Alex adores Harry, it’s lovely how he is with him … You really need to say something to Alex, and soon.”

  Beth was right of course, whether her future lay with Alex or with someone else, it was time she started to put her personal life back on track.

  That kiss on New Year’s Eve, was the final trigger she had needed. After further deliberation, Sam made the monumental decision to tell Alex that she would like to take their friendship further, but only if he was of the same mind. This Thursday, their first monthly film night and takeaway get together of the year, was, she decided, going to be the moment she finally opened her heart to him.

  For now, though, she had something else she was desperate to do. Taking herself back upstairs, she made her way to her bedroom and opened her wardrobe. Parting her hanging clothes, trying not to make too much noise as the wooden hangers clanked along the metal pole, her arms stretched out to the back of the cupboard. There it was, the cardboard box of Michael’s ‘things’. She hadn’t forgotten the promise she made to her deceased husband, to try to find his birth mother, as her new-born lay in her arms; she just hadn’t been able to focus on anything other than being a mum herself since Harry’s birth.

  Flopping down on her bed, she peered into the container, before lifting out the relevant articles: A blue babygrow, several old newspaper clippings and a tiny bear. She’d been pondering over them for days now, taking them out putting them back, nothing was jumping out at her. There must be something, some obvious clue eluding her, preventing her from setting out on the path to find the woman who had given birth to Michael. She’d been a detective inspector for goodness sake, what was she missing? She couldn’t blame her clouded mind on ‘baby-brain’ forever.

  Chapter 2 – An Evening to Remember

  All babies seem to have it, that natural inner instinct that tells them their parents are a little too eager for them to fall asleep because they have somewhere to go without them, or in Sam’s case, a best friend is about to arrive for an evening of adult fun. So inevitably, the little cherub will act up and decide they want mummy or daddy’s full attention – they’re not ready for bed and they certainly don’t want their parents to have a life without them. They want to play or sometimes even scream the walls down. What they definitely don’t want to do is sleep.

  “Come on, Harry, sweetheart, mummy’s friend Alex will be here any minute,” sighed Sam, changing her struggling son’s nappy for the second time in half an hour. Too late, the doorbell announced Alex’s arrival. “OK into your cot you go,” she said lifting up her son from the changing mat and kissing him before lowering him down into his bed. He looked up at her with his mischievous green eyes and grinned. “You can smile young man,” she said, returning his smile. Pulling the duvet over him, she placed a warmed bottle of milk in his mouth and stroked his forehead. Grasping the bottle eagerly in his chubby hands, a look of contentment finally appeared as his eyes began to droop. Dimming the light, Sam tiptoed from the room and this time without considering the floorboards, ran eagerly down the stairs and threw open the front door.

  “What awful weather, I think it might turn to snow!” exclaimed Alex, stepping out of the driving sleet into the warm hall. “Sorry I’m late Sam, something came up I couldn’t get away. You look tired do you want to do this another night?” He asked, leaning forward and kissing her cheek.

  She caught sight of herself in the hall mirror. Damn, her jumper was covered in food stains from Harry’s dinner. How the hell did that happen?

  “Honestly, I’m fine, Harry’s only just gone down. Give me a few minutes to change and I’ll be with you. I haven’t ordered the pizzas yet, why don’t you phone them? I’ll have my usual.”

  Removing his drenched parka, Alex flung it over the bannister and made his way into the sitting room. Pushing his auburn hair off his face, his icy fingers sliced through the saturated strands before pulling out his phone from his trouser pocket. It had been a long day. He loved being with Sam and playing and spending time with Harry, but it had been over a year and a half now and Sam was still keeping him at arm’s length, still putting up repressed barriers in their relationship. He couldn’t go on like this forever. He was going to talk to her tonight, yes tonight, he couldn’t put it off any longer.

  ***

  Sam opened her chest of drawers and took out a change of clothes before taking herself into her bathroom. Stripping to her underwear, she filled the sink with warm water and washed her face before applying moisturiser, mascara and her favourite red lipstick. Pulling on the tight black sweater Alex had bought her for Christmas, which, much to her approval seemed to accentuate her breasts, she finally stepped into her blue jeans and dragged a comb through her hair. There, she looked and felt better already. Spraying some of her favourite perfume on her neck, wrists and cleavage, her grooming was complete – she was ready. She had been practicing what she was going to say to him for days. She would tell him exactly how she was feeling, how he was special to her and that if he wanted to, she would like to take things further. Glancing one last time in the mirror she tugged on
the light cord and made her way back to her friend.

  She could hear his voice on the phone, ordering a couple of pizzas, the minute she entered the sitting room from the hall.

  “Did they say how long they’d be?”

  Alex tilted his head towards her, before returning his phone to his trouser pocket.

  “Apparently, they’re especially busy tonight, there’s an England match on BBC 1, so should be at least an hour.”

  “Fine, gives us time to decide what we want to watch. Do you fancy beer or wine?”

  “Beer, thanks. Actually … can we have a chat first?”

  Sam felt her heart flutter. Was he having romantic feelings towards her like she was towards him? Was he about to tell her he wanted to take things further? Was he about to proclaim his love for her? Sitting down together on the sofa, Alex turned his whole body towards her and took hold of both her hands.

  “Sam, there’s something I need to tell you and I can’t put it off any longer.”

  Yes, yes, he was going to tell her he loved her. Oh, how her heart was bursting with emotion. Simultaneously her cheeks blushed with excitement.

  “Do you remember the night of the New Year’s Eve party?”

  “Yes of course, we danced together for most of it, if I remember correctly, we even kissed.”

  Damn! Why did she mention they kissed? It made her sound like a silly schoolgirl.

  Alex smiled weakly and looked embarrassed.

  “Yes, well, I think we both had a little too much to drink. What I wanted to say was, do you remember your mother introducing us to a young woman who was staying at her bed and breakfast?”

  “Vaguely,” she lied, remembering the platinum blond beauty, who had caused heads to turn as she entered the hall. “I think she moved out soon afterwards into her own flat. Mum said she felt sorry for her that night because she didn’t know anyone in the area and brought her along so she wasn’t alone. Why are you mentioning her?”