Page 71 of Worse Than Murder (DCI Matilda Darke Thriller #13)

I ’m not allowed to drive Adele’s Porsche anymore. I’m banned. We drive to the pyre that used to be Nature’s Diner. What meagre belongings that could be salvaged are in boxes and black bags and piled into the back of Philip’s car. He looks up at the charred building.

‘I don’t feel anything,’ he says to me as he turns his back on it. ‘It’s just bricks and mortar, isn’t it?’

‘I’ve always said home isn’t a building,’ Sally begins. ‘It’s the people inside it that make a home. When Carl was kidnapped, I realised then that the dream house we’d built wasn’t what I wanted. I’d have been happy living in a tent for the rest of my life as long as I had Carl with me.’

Carl is running around the grounds with both Woodys, allowing them to shake off any excess energy and empty their bladders. They have a long journey ahead of them.

They’re heading to Ireland where Sally’s sister, Beth, lives.

She called her the day after the fire, once her voice had returned from the effects of smoke inhalation, and asked if they could come and visit for a few weeks while they decided what to do next.

The next day, Beth called back and told her she knew of a catering school in Wicklow that was up for sale.

It ran courses teaching adults the basic cookery skills.

There was a house attached to the school and a couple of acres of land.

Sally was keen to buy without even looking at it.

Philip was more pragmatic, but seemed excited by the idea.

The only one not looking forward to moving to Ireland was Carl, but Sally had said he could have a third dog with all that space, if he wanted one.

On the way to Ireland, they were stopping off at kennels to pick up a golden Labrador puppy Carl had chosen and wanted to call Woody.

‘Three dogs called Woody. Really?’ I ask.

‘His happiness is paramount,’ Philip says. ‘I don’t know how many thirteen-year-olds could have been through as much horror as he has and still be laughing and enjoying himself.’

We watch as Carl bounds around with the dogs.

‘I’m so sorry this ended like it did,’ I say, looking back at the charred remains of the restaurant.

‘It wasn’t your fault,’ Philip says. ‘Whether you’d come here or not, Iain would still have tried to stop the body being discovered. And if you hadn’t been here, you wouldn’t have taken the cartridges out of that gun, and I would be dead right now.’

Sally shivers. ‘It doesn’t bear thinking about, does it?’

‘I can’t believe how evil and manipulative he was, and for so long,’ Adele says.

‘He was full of hatred and loathing from a young age. He resented his brother for having everything he felt he should have had,’ I say.

‘Do you think they’ll ever find Travis?’ Philip asks.

‘I doubt it. Iain has no reason to reveal the location of his body. It’s his only trump card.’

‘Bastard,’ Philip says under his breath.

‘You’ll come to Ireland to see us, won’t you?’ Sally asks.

‘Do you really want me to, after all this?’

‘Of course.’

‘You’d better come,’ Carl chimes up.

I turn around to look at him. ‘Once you’re settled, let me know, and I’ll come over.’

‘You mean it?’

‘Have I ever broken a promise I’ve made to you?’

‘No.’

‘There you go, then.’

‘Come on, we’d better be heading off before we get caught up in all that traffic,’ Philip says.

We all hug and say our goodbyes.

‘I’m going to miss you so much,’ Carl whispers in my ear as he wraps his arms around me.

‘I’m going to miss you, too. Be good to your parents, however many dogs you end up getting. I’m at the end of the phone whenever you need me.’

He pushes himself out of my embrace. ‘You could move to Ireland with us. Mum says your family is Irish. You could return to your roots.’

I smile. ‘It’s a good idea, Carl. I’ll give it some thought. Go on, don’t keep your mum and dad waiting.’

We wave them off, both with tears in our eyes.

‘I’m going to miss them,’ I say.

Adele puts her arm around me and squeezes me tight. ‘They’re a good family. We’ll go and visit them very soon.’

‘I’d like that.’

‘In the meantime,’ Adele says. She links arms with me, and we turn and walk away from the wreckage of the restaurant. ‘What are you going to do next? As snug as it is in Tania’s cluttered house, I think we’re very close to outstaying our welcome.’

‘Speaking of Tania.’ I take my phone from my back pocket and open an email. ‘She sent me a mock-up of the next edition of her paper.’ I hand it to Adele.

‘Tania’s asked me for a slutty photo.’

‘Do you have a slutty photo?’

‘I have one of me wearing a Sarah Lund sweater.’

‘Ooh, chunky knitwear, very slutty. And what’s this? Forty-two? Really?’

‘You don’t think I can get away with forty-two?’

She looks me up and down. ‘You’re going to need a lot of Vaseline on that camera lens.’

I snatch my phone back and pocket it. ‘I’m not sure how Gill is going to take all this. I doubt Tania is going to mention her once in the article.’

‘What’s going to happen to Gill’s father?’

‘I’m not sure. He sat on the secret for thirty years that Iain blackmailed him into removing Travis’s statement. Lionel’s name was blackened throughout the village when it came out. If he had said Iain coerced him, nobody would have believed him.’

‘Pemberton truly is an evil bastard. I can feel my blood boiling just thinking about him. Anyway.’ Adele puts her arm through mine again. ‘Let’s confine Iain to the pages of history. Hopefully, he’ll get a long sentence and he’ll fade away a lonely and broken man.’

‘Hope so.’

‘And what are you going to do now? Are we heading back to Sheffield?’

I take a deep breath. I don’t say anything.

‘You need to find out the truth, Matilda. You need to discover who killed your family. That way, you can move on and rebuild your life.’

‘I know.’

‘So… what now?’

‘A cup of coffee and a piece of chocolate cake,’ I smile.

‘And after the coffee and cake?’

‘After the coffee and cake, I’ll give Sian a ring and ask her to pop over to the house and put the heater on. I want it to be nice and warm for when we get back home.’

We head off into the village. There’s a spring in my step. My mind is clear for the first time in a long while and I know exactly what I’m going to do next. I’m going back to Sheffield. I’m going to find the man who murdered my family.

And I’m going to kill him.

* * *

To be continued in

FIRST ONE TO DIE

Autumn 2026