WHYTE LIES by KC Acton Read Free Book Online Page B

about how scared she was and about the loud noise when the shots were fired, followed by silence, but she hadn’t seen the killer. Lucy was their only viable witness.
    Mary Gleeson jumped at the sound of Faith’s voice behind her. For three harrowing days, she had been keeping a prayer vigil at her granddaughter’s bedside.
    “I’m sorry for disturbing you,” said Faith, approaching the bed. Lucy’s eyes were closed. Her head was bandaged and her face was swollen. The monitor beside her bleeped steadily. “Has she said anything?”
    “She woke up for a few minutes. She said she was afraid and asked if the bad man was in prison.” Mary smiled weakly. She was pale, drawn, and hadn’t slept in days. “It’s a miracle she survived.”
    Faith nodded, thinking it should never have happened in the first place. She looked at the girl in the bed. Ten-year-old Lucy was in a medically induced coma. Doctors weren’t sure if her injuries were so severe that she would be left permanently brain-damaged. She had suffered a fractured skull and facial injuries from the severity of the pistol-whipping. They also feared that she would be left blind due to the fracture on the orbital bone around her left eye.
    Two armed officers stood guard outside her hospital door. A squad car was on permanent watch outside the hospital. Faith wasn’t taking any chances that the killer would come back to finish what he had started.
    “You should try to get some sleep,” said Faith.
    “I doze in the chair when I’m exhausted. I have to be here when she wakes up again. It’s important that she sees a familiar face.”
    Faith nodded. The officers standing guard had informed her that other relatives had visited, but Mary never left her granddaughter’s side. “How’s Megan?” asked Faith.
    “She’s confused and keeps asking for her mother. She should be back at school, having fun with her classmates.” Mary wiped a tear from her eye. Faith squeezed her shoulder, not knowing what to say. There were no words. “It’s so unfair,” said Mary.
    “I know.” Faith knew first hand how unfair life could be.
     
    ***
     
    Daniel and Amira Gleeson were buried side by side in a quiet, tree-lined cemetery in Clontarf, only two miles from where they had lived. Detectives had decided that it was too dangerous for Megan and Lucy to be present. Faith was sure that whoever they were dealing with was callous enough to add the girls to his list of victims.
    The memorial service was private, attended only by family and close friends. The press respected the Gleesons’ request for no intrusion during their time of grief; there wasn’t a journalist or camera crew in sight. Family and friends wept as the coffins were lowered into the grave. The local priest led the prayers by the graveside as the rain bucketed down. Conor and Mary clung to each other for support. Amira’s sister, Layla, stood a little apart from the group. She threw a single red rose on the grave.
    From a discreet distance, Faith observed the scene.

13

“Have you had any more flashbacks?” asked Dr Crowley.
    Faith frowned and leaned back in her chair. “They’re becoming more frequent since this case. They hit me randomly, and it’s like I’m back in the past all over again.”
    “Why do you think the flashbacks have increased since this case?”
    “Oh, I don’t know.” She sighed. “I think those two little girls remind me of myself. They must be feeling so lost and confused, and I remember feeling that way throughout most of my childhood, especially after my father killed himself. He wasn’t much of a father, but he was the only one I had.”
    “How old were you when he died?”
    “I was fifteen. I came home from school one day and Mum said that Dad was dead. I couldn’t believe it. It took months for me to accept that he was gone, especially because his body was never recovered. I was used to not seeing him for months at a time, so part of me expected him to come