Fatal Act by Leigh Russell Read Free Book Online Page B

had only hidden it away because of Chloe’s visit. The faded picture was the one memento she had of Milly Blake, the mother who had given her up for adoption at birth. Geraldine understood her mother’s reasons for letting her go. At sixteen, and unmarried, she had wanted to give her baby a better chance in life than she could offer. On the face of it, Milly had been right to give up her baby. Geraldine had been raised in comfortable circumstances, by a caring family. After giving birth to a daughter, her adoptive mother had been unable to have any more children and the couple hadn’t wanted their child, Celia, to be an only child. Even when her parents had divorced, Geraldine had been well looked after by her mother, and her father had continued to support them financially. Geraldine had no grounds for complaint. She had been brought up as though she was her parents’ real daughter. But she wasn’t. Her looks and character had been completely out of place in her new family. Despite all the material benefits of her upbringing, she had never felt at ease in her adoptive family.
    P erhaps she would have fitted in more readily if she had known about her history all along, able to understand why she looked so different to the rest of her family. But her parents had never told her she was adopted. She had only learned about it on the death of her adoptive mother just over a year ago. Since then she had been ambivalent, desperate to meet her birth mother, yet afraid of the encounter. Until they met face to face, Geraldine could indulge in happy fantasies about their meeting, the instant rapport they would share, the immediate sense she would have of coming home. But the reality might prove very different. Her birth mother had left clear instructions with the adoption agency that she never wanted to meet her child. She still appeared not to want any contact with her. Geraldine had procrastinated over what to do for nearly a year. She didn’t even know if her mother was still alive. Finally, she had resolved to find her mother and had traced her to an address in London. But when she arrived, trembling with hope, Milly had already moved away. The disappointment had been harsh. She was aware that she risked even more acute disappointment if she did succeed in finding her mother.
    A wave of self pity turned to bitter anger against the mother who had abandoned her at birth. What right did she have to make a stranger of her own daughter? She thrust the photograph to the back of the drawer and slammed it shut. She didn’t actually need to search for her mother. She had no relationship with her. Work filled her life. By the time she retired, she might be settled in a relationship, with a whole new family. The future was full of possibilities without her absentee mother. She didn’t need to cling to a fantasy, and she couldn’t afford to waste energy focusing on the wrong search. Not only was it important to seek justice for its own sake, but if Anna’s killer wasn’t stopped he might strike again. If tracing Geraldine’s birth mother no longer seemed to matter, finding Anna’s killer was growing more important with every passing day.

Chapter 9
    P IERS WAS DISHEVELLED AND decidedly bad-tempered after his night in a cell. His greying hair was a mess, his face had lost its healthy colour, even his eyes looked dull and had developed ugly pouches from tiredness. He looked at least ten years older than when Geraldine had first seen him.
    ‘What the hell is going on here?’ he demanded, his voice taut and high-pitched with frustration. ‘Where’s my lawyer?’
    His personal solicitor had been summoned and joined them as Geraldine was ushering the suspect into an interview room. Tall and suave, dressed in a sober suit, white shirt and dark tie, he wouldn’t have looked out of place at a funeral.
    P iers leapt out of his seat.
    ‘Terry, at last! What the hell’s going on? Surely they can’t just keep me here without any reason