No Remorse (Short Story) Read online

  ‘Anyway,’ I say, my tone lighter, ‘do you want the other half of that Danish?’

  She smiles. ‘I do, actually.’

  I push it towards her. ‘Help yourself.’

  We sit in silence as she eats. From time to time she looks out of the window, at the clouds casting deep shadows across the fells, and from time to time she looks back to me. It’s an odd thing watching her. Not at all how I imagined after the desperate love I felt in her early years. I used to watch her sleep and become so overawed with it all. One second I was awash with love and gratitude, and the next that would be eclipsed by an ominous dread. A fear of something terrible happening. What if she was taken from us? What if she was not really ours to keep?

  A sense of peace settles as I realize that she is still mine on some level.

  Elizabeth smiles at me, and is just about to say something when her attention is caught by something over my right shoulder. I see unease creep into her eyes and I think I can guess what is over there.

  ‘Are you in trouble?’ she asks quietly.

  ‘A bit,’ I nod. ‘Bringing you here sort of violates the conditions of my parole.’

  ‘Oh,’ she says quietly.

  ‘And the car we came in?’ I say. ‘Well, it’s stolen. So there’s that. I might have to go away for a while.’

  She bites her lip. ‘For long?’

  ‘Shouldn’t be too long. A couple of months, maybe.’

  I turn and see three police officers approaching from the far side of the café.

  ‘This place where you’re going,’ she says quickly, ‘. . . could I write to you? Could I come and see you?’

  ‘I’d like that.’

  She puts out her hands and holds mine. The officers are now only metres away. Elizabeth leans in and kisses my cheek. ‘Thank you for what you did for me,’ she whispers.

  ‘A pleasure.’

  ‘Catherine Rhodes?’

  I turn to the officers and nod.

  ‘I’m coming,’ I tell them and they give me a little space.

  Then I stand.

  ‘Don’t forget your rucksack,’ I say, handing my bag to Elizabeth, and she looks back at me, perplexed.

  I lean in. ‘There’s something at the bottom,’ I whisper urgently. ‘There’s some money in there. Quite a lot, actually. Keep it safe for when I come back, okay?’

  About the Author

  Paula Daly lives in Cumbria with her husband, three children and whippet Skippy. Before becoming a writer she was a freelance physiotherapist.

  Also by Paula Daly

  JUST WHAT KIND OF MOTHER ARE YOU?

  Your friend’s child is missing. It’s your fault.

  No family is perfect.

  A husband, three children and a full-time job. So many plates to keep spinning.

  No wonder you forgot you were supposed to be looking after your friend’s daughter.

  But no one has seen her since yesterday.

  And she’s not the first to go missing from your small town.

  So who’s hiding something?

  KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE

  Your best friend isn’t who you think she is.

  You’ve been friends since university, when you became the people you are today.

  You don’t see each other enough but when you do it’s as if you’ve never been apart.

  She’s one of the family. You would trust her with your life, your children, your husband.

  And when your daughter is rushed to hospital, you’re grateful that she’s stepping in at home, looking after things.

  But your best friend isn’t who you think she is. You’re about to find out just how wrong you were.

  THE MISTAKE I MADE

  If you slept with a stranger for money, who’d really end up paying?

  We all think we know who we are.

  What we’re capable of.

  Roz is a single mother, a physiotherapist, a sister, a friend. She’s also desperate.

  Her business has gone under, she’s crippled by debt and she’s just had to explain to her son why someone’s taken all their furniture away.

  But now a stranger has made her an offer. For one night with her, he’ll pay enough to bring her back from the edge.

  Roz has a choice to make.

  TRANSWORLD PUBLISHERS

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  www.transworldbooks.co.uk

  Transworld is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com

  First published in Great Britain by Transworld Digital

  an imprint of Transworld Publishers

  Copyright © Paula Daly 2014

  Pauly Daly has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

  This book is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  Version 1.0 Epub ISBN 9781473509214

  This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

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