Unveiling Lies (Eastcove Lies Book 2) Read online

  Eastcove Lies Book Two

  Unveiling Lies

  A Dark Romantic Thriller

  A Novella

  by

  Gina Dickerson

  **

  Unveiling Lies © Gina Dickerson 2016

  Kindle edition published worldwide Copyright Gina Dickerson 2016

  Previously published in 2012 & 2014 as Unveiling Christmas

  The right of Gina Dickerson to be identified as the Author of the work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  All rights reserved in all media. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, photocopying, the Internet or otherwise, without the prior written permission from the author.

  All characters and events featured in this publication are purely fictitious and any resemblance to any person, place, organisation/company, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Cover design by RoseWolf Design

  Images Bigstock – Heckmannolog/Prometeus/Denblitsky

  * * * *

  Also by Gina Dickerson

  Always Golden

  (A dark fairy tale)

  Lies Love Tells

  (Eastcove Lies Book One)

  Mortiswood Tales

  Mortiswood: Kaelia Awakening

  (Book One)

  Mortiswood: Kaelia Falling

  (Book Two)

  The Pennington Christmas Curse

  (A magical fairy tale)

  Twisted Thoughts

  (A poetry collection)

  Underleaf

  (A short story collection of twisted, dark tales)

  For the links to read two free short stories visit Gina’s website

  www.ginadickersonwriter.co.uk

  * * * *

  FOREWORD

  Although this book is the second in the ‘Eastcove Lies’ series it can be read as a standalone. Each book in the series is set in the fictional town of Eastcove, with some characters crossing over from book to book.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Also by the author

  About the author

  * * * *

  Chapter One

  ‘I can’t do this.’ With a trembling hand Suzy Harte tore the white bridal veil from her head, leaving her auburn hair with odd wisps which stuck up in the biting winter wind.

  ‘What?’ her mother wailed, pale grey eyes widening in surprise. ‘Don’t be so ridiculous. You can’t change your mind now!’

  Suzy peered up at the imposing nineteenth century church, its tower looming darkly. The chiming of the bells resonated in the stillness, and a light spray of snow fell from the luminous sky. All of the other people—the guests—were already inside, waiting for her.

  ‘It’s your wedding day!’ Suzy’s mother, Arabella, hissed. ‘Your father and I have spent a small fortune on making sure this will be the most special day of your life!’

  Suzy bunched the netted veil into a ball and tossed it into the air, watching as the wind scooped the material up and carried it along before the end caught and strangled a nearby headstone.

  ‘I don’t want to marry Simon.’ Suzy shivered in the wintery chill.

  Whose idea had it been to wear a strapless dress without anything to cover her arms?

  ‘You should’ve thought about that before!’ Her mother plonked her hands on her tiny, satin covered hips. ‘There’s nothing wrong with Simon Prendergast, he comes from a well-respected family. He has money, Suzanna.’

  ‘Simon may have money, Mother, but he also has a lover. This, incidentally, I only discovered this morning.’ Suzy’s pink-glossed lips rose in derision.

  ‘What?’ Suzy’s mother gasped, her hands flying to her own rose-bud mouth. ‘How do you know for sure? I mean, you could be mistaken…don’t do anything rash.’

  Suzy’s manicured fingers wrenched open the ridiculously miniscule wrist bag her mother had forced her to use for carrying the wedding ring in, and pulled out her mobile phone. Quickly, she tapped the screen and passed it to her mother, absurdly relishing the paling of the latter’s face.

  ‘That’s Nathaniel,’ she explained to her silent mother. ‘Simon’s lover. As you can see from that sordid photo, Simon likes Nathaniel very, very much! There is no way I can ever marry Simon now…he obviously doesn’t love me, not in the way he should!’

  The older woman’s lips disappeared into a thin line as she handed the phone back to her daughter. ‘You didn’t sign a pre-nup.’

  ‘And?’ Suzy shrugged, returning the phone back to the silly bag. ‘I don’t give a damn about money, if that’s what you’re implying.’

  Her mother’s eyes narrowed. ‘Get yourself in that church and marry the cheating bastard so you can divorce him and take him for all he’s worth.’

  Suzy laughed drily, her green eyes blazing. ‘Mum, always the opportunist. You never fail to leave me with lower expectations of you. Simon’s not a bad person, I imagine all of this pretence,’ she said, gesturing at herself and the church, ‘has something to do with his family.’

  ‘You could earn yourself a couple of million pounds, that’s nothing to scoff at!’

  Suzy picked up the mass of frothy white skirt layers and began to make her way around the side of the church. ‘You make me sound like a prostitute!’

  Her mother snapped at her heels. ‘I’m not saying that, darling. You were having sex with him without getting anything in return.’

  ‘Mum, I’m not discussing my sex-life with you!’

  If the odd drunken fumble counted as any kind of life, Suzy thought. Why hadn’t she seen the signs? Simon was lovely to her—more than lovely, really—but he had never been an amorous lover…something she’d hoped would change after they were married and lived together.

  ‘If you marry him, you can treat the sex as a step towards saving for your future! Stay with him for a year then wring him dry!’ her mother gabbled on.

  Suzy span back to face her mother and waggled a finger in her face. To her annoyance tears built up behind her eyelids. The hot tears sprung free, no doubt collecting mascara on their descent down her cheeks. Roughly she rubbed the tears away leaving her hand smudged with black.

  ‘How can you think like that, Mother? I happen to love Simon, and I care about how he feels, so I’m not going to screw him, not in any sense.’

  ‘No,’ her mother replied sarcastically. ‘You’ll just let Nathaniel do that.’

  Suzy surprised herself when she felt the sting of skin against skin. Her palm tingled from the sharp contact with her mother’s cheek.

  Her mother clasped a hand to her cheek, her mouth forming a shocked ‘O’ as the skin began to turn pink.

  Silently, Suzy turned and continued towards the back of the church, along the path leading to the car park.

  ‘You’re making a big mistake,’ her mother shouted after her. ‘Don’t you care about me and your father?’

  Suzy screamed in frustration, flinging her hands in the air. ‘This is my life. I’m not marrying Simon just to make you happy. Just because I’m not doesn’t mean I don’t care about you and Dad…stop trying to make me feel guilty.’

  ‘We’re bankrupt!’ her mother’s voice rose hysterically, travelling in the wind and slapping Suzy back. ‘We’re losing the house and everyt
hing!’

  Suzy stopped dead, struggling to absorb her mother’s words. She jumped as her mother touched her exposed shoulder.

  ‘Marry Simon,’ her mother begged. ‘Please do it for your dad and me. We need the money.’

  ‘What happened to your money? I thought you had savings.’

  Her mother’s voice was unusually sad. ‘Your father spent them.’

  ‘I didn’t know.’ Suzy looked at the church. ‘How did you afford this? You should’ve told me and I would’ve postponed the wedding.’

  ‘I sold the cars.’

  Suzy gulped, ice-cold air rushing in and freezing her throat. ‘I can’t marry Simon. Don’t make me. He and I would both be unhappy.’

  ‘You have to marry him,’ her mother’s voice hardened. ‘You owe us for all we’ve ever given you. We paid for your private education, footed the astronomical bill when you went off to university and studied philosophy and metaphysics or whatever it was, which you dropped out of after a year!’

  Suzy huffed. ‘I only tried those courses because Dad wanted me to. I told both of you it wasn’t what I was interested in.’

  ‘So, you’re happy being a writer are you?’

  Suzy huffed again. ‘Of course I am.’

  ‘You write food reviews for the local newspaper and your silly little blog!’

  ‘I’m not listening to this…I don’t just write food reviews, I’m a restaurant food critic. You look down on my job but you were deliriously happy when the local paper ran a feature announcing mine and Simon’s wedding…it was the first time you actually bought the paper. You even went as far to stick the article in a frame! Talk about two-faced.’

  Suzy hitched her skirts back up and stalked off across the lightly snow-covered grass, weaving between headstones. With a sudden shriek her foot caught on something and she crashed to the ground, face down.

  Suzy wailed. ‘Now I can’t even sell the sodding dress, it’s ruined. Who would want to buy it looking like this?’

  A low groan answered her.

  ‘Simon?’ Suzy whispered, struggling to absorb the view before her. She crawled over to where her would-be-groom was sprawled on the ground. Unthinkingly, her hand snaked forward and she tentatively stroked the handle of the knife protruding from his chest. ‘Is this a joke? We don’t have to get married so stop mucking about.’ She snatched her hand back and squeezed his arm.

  Simon’s eyelids fluttered open and his glazed eyes tried to focus on her. ‘Soz...Suze.’

  It was then Suzy saw the blood. How had she not noticed it immediately? The snow around Simon was turning crimson in an expanding arc around him. As if in slow motion she looked down at the front of her dress, her knees close to Simon, and watched the blood slowly creeping up the material.

  ‘Suze…’ Simon’s voice was barely audible. His eyelids flickered. Open. Closed. Open. ‘Sorry.’

  ‘Shush.’ Suzy’s own eyes filled with tears. ‘Don’t move. Mum!’ she shouted. ‘Call an ambulance!’

  Suzy’s mother, standing stock-still opposite her daughter, did not reply.

  ‘Mother…phone, now!’ Suzy returned her attention to Simon. ‘You’re going to be okay, an ambulance will come and you’ll be perfectly fine. There’s no need to apologize for ruining the wedding. You just need to concentrate on staying alive.’

  Simon’s eye flicked open again. ‘No,’ he croaked. ‘Soz for Nathaniel.’

  ‘I know,’ Suzy soothed. ‘I know all about Nathaniel.’ The words choked her but she knew she had to say them. ‘I’ll contact him and tell him to come to the hospital.’ She’d rather pull her own heart from her chest with her bare hands and stamp on the still-beating tormentor, but deep down she knew calling Nathaniel was the right thing to do.

  It was what Simon would do if the roles had been reversed, if he’d discovered she’d had a secret lover and then found her in the snow with a knife in her chest.

  Suzy choked back sobs.

  Which was exactly why she loved him, he was charming and kind. He was the one she had always turned to. The one who always supported her, the one who had given her courage to pursue the career she had always dreamt of.

  Simon’s eyes slid shut. ‘Love you really, Suze. Best friends. For ever. Always have been.’ His words were so light the breeze snatched them up and whirled them around Suzy’s head like words from a dream. ‘Tell Nathaniel I lo—’

  ‘Simon?’ Suzy’s blood-stained hands flew to Simon’s face and she grasped his head. ‘Simon…Simon!’

  Simon’s right hand slumped down between him and Suzy. His hand unfurled and the navy-blue velvet box holding Suzy’s wedding ring tumbled onto the blood-soaked snow.

  The strength of Suzy’s screams made her throat hurt. All other words fled from her as she pulled Simon into her arms and cried out his name over and over, her anguished face turned skywards to the onslaught of falling snow.

  * * *

  ‘Drop the knife,’ ordered an authoritative voice.

  In a daze, Suzy realised she was holding the knife which had been embedded in Simon’s chest, droplets of his blood dripping from the blade onto the freshly fallen snow. She turned to face the crowd that had gathered around her. Faces from her life: friends, family, her father’s, all wore the same mask of horrified surprise. From her dirty, blood-stained froth of a wedding dress to her scarlet soaked hands and mascara-tears streaked face, Suzy reckoned she looked a complete fright. The knife in her hand was the cherry on the icing of the mess she’d become. Her fingers snapped open and the knife dropped from her hand, impaling point-down into the soft ground.

  ‘He’s dead,’ she said slowly, in a voice unrecognisable as her own. ‘Simon’s dead.’

  ‘She killed him!’ screamed Suzy’s cousin Siobhan. ‘The psycho bitch killed him. I knew she’d snap one day, she’s always had a terrible temper on her. Even when we were kids I was terrified of her. She bit me on the cheek once, just lunged over the back of the sofa and sunk her teeth in…she’s crazy I tell you, completely evil!’

  The voices of the crowd rose in a crescendo, shattering the eerie bubble which had cocooned Suzy.

  ‘Don’t be so ridiculous, Siobhan!’ Suzy snapped. ‘You’ve never liked me. I didn’t kill Simon. I would never hurt him. I found him like this. Didn’t I, Mum?’

  Her mother’s pale eyes resembled saucers. Her mouth opened and closed but no words fell out. She trembled from head to toe.

  ‘Mum!’ Suzy screamed as a police officer bore down on her. ‘Tell them!’

  * * *

  Suzy eyed the police detective over the rim of her plastic coffee cup. The room was simply furnished, with only a table in the centre and the chairs in which she, he, and another officer sat. A digital recording device blinked from one end of the table. The table-top was cool against Suzy’s forearms as she rested them upon it and set down the weak tasting coffee. Her fingernails were cracked and blood had ingrained in the creases of her fingers and palms.

  ‘So you’re telling me Simon Prendergast was alive when you stumbled across him?’ Detective Sanders asked the question for the third time, albeit slightly reworded.

  Suzy, wondering if she should have lied from the beginning, shook her head, and then nodded. ‘He was dying. No matter how many times I tell you what happened, I’m only going to say the same thing.’

  ‘And the knife?’

  Suzy sipped the weak coffee and shuddered. ‘I was screaming and crying all over him, I don’t even remember touching the knife.’

  She gulped, now that was a complete lie but it wasn’t as if she had been the one to plunge the wretched thing into him in the first place. She’d only grabbed the knife after he’d taken his last breath, then slid the blade out, mesmerised by its power. Hadn’t she? She hadn’t wanted Simon dead, she just didn’t want to marry him once she’d found out about Nathaniel, his secret lover of four whole years.

  She’d been friends with Simon her whole life…they’d always had each other. How could he have kep
t such a secret as Nathaniel from her? A tear snaked free and trickled down her cheek, she’d only been with Simon in the romantic sense for just over a year. He’d obviously never confided in her fully. The thought made her sad. If he’d told her, she’d have been there for him in any way she could. Why had he kept his feelings from her?

  If only he had felt he could trust her.

  The way she had trusted him and allowed herself to fall in love with him.

  She stifled a sob, realising she had never been the love of Simon’s life. She’d given him her heart but his heart had never been on offer, it had already belonged to someone else.

  ‘Simon had a lover,’ she blurted out.

  The detective’s dark eyebrows shot up to meet his hairline. ‘And do you know who that is?’

  Suzy nodded sadly. ‘There’s a picture of him on my phone.’

  ‘Him?’ The detective’s voice remained steady. ‘When did you discover this?’

  ‘This morning when I was at the hairdressers having my hair-up done.’

  Detective Sanders’ lips twitched. ‘Really?’

  Suzy patted her hair, catching sight of her reflection in the mirror, which she knew was really two-way glass, behind the detective. ‘Not that it looks any good now.’ Her eyes, wide in the reflection and framed with streaks of black make-up, were startled and her skin was paper-white emphasising the spattering of freckles dappling her nose and cheeks. ‘I know you’re thinking that makes for an iron-cast motive for murder but I didn’t stab Simon.’ She burst into tears.

  Detective Sanders pushed his chair back and approached Suzy’s side of the table, handing her a tissue from his pocket, a smile softening his chiselled features. ‘My colleague is questioning your mother and there was another eye-witness—one not involved in the wedding—who is also giving a statement. If all accounts verify your story, you’ll be able to leave.’