Read Online Butterfly Grave (Murder Notebooks) by Anne Cassidy - Free Book Online
Authors: Anne Cassidy
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table was a blue file with letters spilling out of it.
‘It hasn’t been a complete waste of time,’ Joshua said, sighing. ‘I’ve found out that my uncle has major credit card debt.’
‘How much?’ Skeggsie said.
‘The file’s a mess but there are two accounts maxed out. Looks like almost eight thousand pounds. Most of it on online gambling. The bulk of it in the last four weeks.’
‘Oh.’
‘So on top of being heartbroken he also has no money.’
If only Joshua had visited his uncle, Rose thought, but did not say. A short weekend visit halfway through the term would have alerted Joshua that something was up. Maybe he would have found out that Susie was married and been able to say something to his uncle, to make him think. Or possibly he might have found some of the credit card bills and realised that something was wrong. Instead his uncle, free of anyone’s disapproval, seemed to have nosedived, getting more deeply involved with Susie and sucked into debt.
But Joshua had been completely preoccupied with the search for their parents and had hardly ever mentioned his uncle and Rose had never thought to ask. Now he was going over and over it, coming back time and again to Greg Tyler’s assertion that Stuart had called out the name Bren . Events were repeating themselves. His search for their parents was pushing Stuart aside again.
Rose was tired and still bruised by his sharp words that afternoon. She took a gulp of beer and decided she didn’t feel like drinking any more. She said she’d have an early night and Joshua umm ed and continued his conversation with Skeggsie.
The next morning as she opened the curtains in her room she saw the SUV again. It was there, parked further along on the other side of the street and the woman was sitting in the driver’s seat. She couldn’t see the dog but she guessed it was probably in the car.
Why was it there?
Was she being paranoid?
Joshua was downstairs. She could hear the radio and she could smell food cooking so she went into his room.
It was the first time she had been in there and she was surprised at how bare it was. It was as if he’d taken absolutely everything to London with him. There were no pictures on the wall, no ornaments, awards, photographs or memorabilia. How different it was to his London flat, which was full to bursting with posters, books, CDs, DVDs, magazines. It was as if he’d decided he wasn’t coming back. She wondered, for a moment, if his uncle had seen it like that. If he had walked into the bare room and realised that Joshua, who had grown up with him, hadn’t just gone to university. He’d gone for good.
Joshua’s bag was in the corner still packed. The zip gaped and clothes spilled out as if he had rummaged round for any old thing to wear. Over the back of Joshua’s bedside chair was the bomber jacket he’d bought for his uncle as a Christmas present. His laptop, phone, wallet and some papers were all strewn on the floor by his bed.
On the back of the door hung Joshua’s new coat. Rose listened hard in case he was about to come upstairs. There was no sound so she thrust her hand into the pocket of the coat and pulled out the small notebook he’d been using to write down car registration numbers. She opened it and saw page after page of numbers written crookedly, some in pencil, some in pen. Each page had a date at the top. She sat down on the very edge of Joshua’s bed and looked down the list. She started with the most recent, the day before yesterday when they’d been travelling up from London. GT50 DNT was what she was searching for.
Three-quarters of the way down she found it.
GT50 DNT.
She was right. The silver SUV was there when they stopped at the services. Surely that just was too much of a coincidence. She tore a piece of paper from the pad and wrote the number on it, shoving it into her pocket.
She looked down at the floor wondering what to do next. Joshua’s things were by her feet, as if
‘It hasn’t been a complete waste of time,’ Joshua said, sighing. ‘I’ve found out that my uncle has major credit card debt.’
‘How much?’ Skeggsie said.
‘The file’s a mess but there are two accounts maxed out. Looks like almost eight thousand pounds. Most of it on online gambling. The bulk of it in the last four weeks.’
‘Oh.’
‘So on top of being heartbroken he also has no money.’
If only Joshua had visited his uncle, Rose thought, but did not say. A short weekend visit halfway through the term would have alerted Joshua that something was up. Maybe he would have found out that Susie was married and been able to say something to his uncle, to make him think. Or possibly he might have found some of the credit card bills and realised that something was wrong. Instead his uncle, free of anyone’s disapproval, seemed to have nosedived, getting more deeply involved with Susie and sucked into debt.
But Joshua had been completely preoccupied with the search for their parents and had hardly ever mentioned his uncle and Rose had never thought to ask. Now he was going over and over it, coming back time and again to Greg Tyler’s assertion that Stuart had called out the name Bren . Events were repeating themselves. His search for their parents was pushing Stuart aside again.
Rose was tired and still bruised by his sharp words that afternoon. She took a gulp of beer and decided she didn’t feel like drinking any more. She said she’d have an early night and Joshua umm ed and continued his conversation with Skeggsie.
The next morning as she opened the curtains in her room she saw the SUV again. It was there, parked further along on the other side of the street and the woman was sitting in the driver’s seat. She couldn’t see the dog but she guessed it was probably in the car.
Why was it there?
Was she being paranoid?
Joshua was downstairs. She could hear the radio and she could smell food cooking so she went into his room.
It was the first time she had been in there and she was surprised at how bare it was. It was as if he’d taken absolutely everything to London with him. There were no pictures on the wall, no ornaments, awards, photographs or memorabilia. How different it was to his London flat, which was full to bursting with posters, books, CDs, DVDs, magazines. It was as if he’d decided he wasn’t coming back. She wondered, for a moment, if his uncle had seen it like that. If he had walked into the bare room and realised that Joshua, who had grown up with him, hadn’t just gone to university. He’d gone for good.
Joshua’s bag was in the corner still packed. The zip gaped and clothes spilled out as if he had rummaged round for any old thing to wear. Over the back of Joshua’s bedside chair was the bomber jacket he’d bought for his uncle as a Christmas present. His laptop, phone, wallet and some papers were all strewn on the floor by his bed.
On the back of the door hung Joshua’s new coat. Rose listened hard in case he was about to come upstairs. There was no sound so she thrust her hand into the pocket of the coat and pulled out the small notebook he’d been using to write down car registration numbers. She opened it and saw page after page of numbers written crookedly, some in pencil, some in pen. Each page had a date at the top. She sat down on the very edge of Joshua’s bed and looked down the list. She started with the most recent, the day before yesterday when they’d been travelling up from London. GT50 DNT was what she was searching for.
Three-quarters of the way down she found it.
GT50 DNT.
She was right. The silver SUV was there when they stopped at the services. Surely that just was too much of a coincidence. She tore a piece of paper from the pad and wrote the number on it, shoving it into her pocket.
She looked down at the floor wondering what to do next. Joshua’s things were by her feet, as if
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