Lane's End by Jill Paterson Read Free Book Online

dishes caught his attention before his gaze went to his reflection in the glass patio doors. Sliding the doors open, he stepped outside. In the darkness, as if forgotten, clothes hung limp on the line. Emma’s car space remained empty. Pulling his mobile phone from his pocket, he dialled her number.
    “Your call could not be connected,” answered the dispassionate recorded voice.
    With growing desperation, he retraced his steps. As he reached the front hall, he heard a knock on the front door. ‘Emma?’ he yelled with a surge of relief.
    ‘No, it’s me,’ a voice came from the darkened porch.
    ‘Joanna? Is Emma with you?’ he asked opening the screen door.
    ‘No. I haven’t heard from her since last week. I came over because I have to talk to you, Ben.’
    ‘Is it about Emma?’
    ‘No. Why do you keep asking about her?’
    Ben noticed the uncharacteristic sharpness in Joanna’s voice and hesitated. ‘Because I’m worried. I just got home and she’s not here.’
    ‘Have you tried her mobile?’
    ‘Yes. It’s turned off.’
    ‘Then I’d say she’s at a movie.’
    It was then that Ben took in the harried look on Joanna’s face and the tears brimming her eyelids. ‘What’s wrong?’ he asked, putting his hands on her shoulders and looking into her face. ‘This isn’t like you.’ Ben fumbled in his pocket for a handkerchief. ‘Here, wipe those tears and tell me about it.’
    ‘It’s Dad.’
    Ben’s eyes hardened. ‘Joanna, please don’t start on about that again. Especially tonight. The situation between Dad and me is never going to be resolved. I’ve accepted that. Why can’t you?’
    ‘It’s not about your estrangement from Dad, Ben. I only wish it was.’
    ‘Then what is it?’
    ‘Dad suffered a heart attack early this morning. He’s in the Intensive Care Unit at North Shore Hospital.’ Ben gaped at his sister. ‘The doctor’s say it’s touch and go whether he’ll recover.’ Joanna’s voice broke and she began to weep.
    Ben put his arm around her, a multitude of thoughts racing through his mind. ‘I take it Laura is at the hospital.’
    ‘Yes. She wanted you to know what’s happened as soon as you arrived home.’
    ‘How is she coping?’ Ben thought of his step-mother, a stoic woman who doted on his father in every way.
    ‘She’s managing well under the circumstances. She knows Dad’s chances aren’t good, but as long as he’s alive she has hope.’ Joanna shook her head. ‘She’s such a positive person. I wish I was more like her. It helps at a time like this, and particularly with Dad being...’
    ‘Being what? Joanna?’
    Joanna glared at her brother. ‘Being a suspect in a murder investigation.’
    ‘A what ?’
    ‘Seems unbelievable, I know. It happened last night. Dad and Laura, together with the Hunts, hosted a cocktail party at the Observatory. It was for some of their company’s clients. One of the guests was found dead in the grounds at the end of the evening. Someone, I don’t know who it was, told the police that earlier in the evening they’d seen Dad arguing with the man who died.’
    ‘Does Dad know this?’
    ‘Yes. Laura and Dad left the venue early, before the body was found, but Emerson telephoned Dad later in the evening and told him.’
    ‘When did Dad suffer his heart attack?’
    Joanna hesitated before she said, ‘Right after Emerson’s call.’
    ‘Was the man who died one of Dad’s clients?’
    ‘Laura doesn’t think so. She thinks he must be one of Emerson’s. His name was Peter Van Goren.’ Joanna looked into Ben’s face. ‘Do you know him?’
    ‘No. Should I?’
    ‘Well, it’s just that Mr Van Goren asked after you while I was talking to him last night. Are you sure you don’t know him, Ben? He’s not someone you’d forget in a hurry. He spoke with a slight foreign accent and walked with the aid of a cane. The cane alone might help you to recall the man if his name doesn’t. It had the most exquisite silver handle