FORGET ME NOT (Mark Kane Mysteries Book One) (26 page)

Tears welled up in his eyes and he reached
for his handkerchief, but this time it wasn’t there. He put his
hand over his eyes and squeezed the tears out with his thumb and
forefinger.

“How long have you known?”

“Since the examination was carried out on
Gloria’s hair. It showed significant traces of arsenic. How long
have I known it was you? Since yesterday evening.”

“It’s a dreadful thing to have to live with.
I couldn’t bear to see her like that you see, and I knew she
wouldn’t have wanted to live that way. And then there was the
burden it was placing on the children. I agonized over it for
weeks, but I’m not sorry, except that the children will have to
know about it. I don’t care about the public disgrace, or what may
happen to me as a result. Gloria’s at peace now. It’s what she
would have wanted.”

He paused for a while, gazing down the yard
towards the motionless trees, lost in thought. After few minutes he
said:

“You see I was the only one who really knew
what she would have wanted.” He paused again, briefly. “A few
months before that dreadful disease finally got her in its
relentless grip we had a short vacation. She told me one day that
she was afraid; but she wasn’t afraid of death – she was afraid of
the living death that she knew awaited her. I’ll have to live with
my conscience, and let God judge me in due course.”

“I think it best to wait until then,” I said.
“As far as I’m concerned, Greg, we are the only two people who
know. I see no reason for that to change. I’m not a policeman and
I’m not your moral judge. For better or worse you have to live with
what you’ve done. Let that be an end to it.”

Greg was gazing down the lawn towards the
arboretum. After a few minutes silence he spoke again, without
looking at me and in a voice that sounded a million miles away.

“How did you know?”

“From the internet search results on your
computer. It wasn’t what I was looking for. It started in March,
didn’t it? You were looking for ways to end Gloria’s life. I’ve
destroyed the copy disc and the printout.”

Greg was gazing down the lawn again, to the
arboretum where Forget-Me-Nots grew and small colorful birds danced
and darted in the speckled sunlight filtering through the trees. We
sat for a while longer in silence and then I got up quietly. Greg
didn’t shift his gaze. I walked through the glass doors and across
the living room, past the portrait of Gloria, into the hall and out
the front door. I didn’t look back. I preferred to remember him
that way. As I walked towards my car it was clouding over, and as I
drove slowly down the gently curving driveway spots of rain pitted
my windscreen.

“It must have been a shock when you found out
about Greg.”

Lucy and I were sitting out on my porch. We’d
watched a barely visible sunset turn to dusk, and then to darkness.
There was no moon so the only illumination now was the porch light.
I’d stopped on the way home and bought a bottle of wine. It seemed
appropriate somehow. Lucy was sharing it with me. There was no ice
bucket or linen cloth, but it tasted alright.

“I don’t remember what I felt. I don’t think
I was really surprised. It all made kind of instant sense. Of
course I couldn’t prove the searches were made by Greg, but it was
fairly obvious; and I was confident that he wouldn’t deny it if he
was responsible. I actually wonder whether, subconsciously, he
wanted me to find it. But whether he did or not he’s probably glad
I did. A burden shared is a burden halved.”

“Why do you think he chose arsenic? You said
it would have been an unpleasant way to die.”

“I guess because it is odorless and
colorless, and it replicates the symptoms of a natural death –
provided it’s administered in small dose over a prolonged period.
And it’s relatively easy to obtain as well.”

“Do you think his children knew?”

“No, I’m sure they didn’t.”

“And Susan, or rather Sara, doesn’t know
either?”

“Only Greg and I know about it. Let’s hope it
stays that way.”

“The whole thing is strange, isn’t it? If not
for Sara no-one would ever have known about the murder. Was she
shocked when you unveiled her as a fraud?”

“I think she was relieved. I don’t think it
was ever about the money. She got caught up in something she
couldn’t control. She fulfilled her promise to the real Susan and
gave some comfort to Gloria in her final lucid days. She had no
reason to stick around when Gloria became incapable of rational
thought. I think in a way she really did become a sort of surrogate
daughter. Of course, what she told me may be a complete pack of
lies; I’m not infallible. But I am used to judging a person’s
veracity by carefully watching and listening to them. When Susan
told me about her own experiences as an adopted child I didn’t have
a shadow of doubt that she was being truthful.”

“Maybe we’ll be invited back to the country
club. After all you solved the case.”

“I don’t expect that Greg will be going there
again.”

Lucy sat quietly for a while.

“Why didn’t you tell me last night that you
knew Greg had done it?”

“I didn’t want to complicate things. I wanted
your opinion generally on what you thought I should do.”

She was sad for a while and didn’t speak, but
soon I noticed the usual sparkle gradually returning to her
eyes.

“In a way – a fairly important way really – I
was responsible for solving the case,” she said. “At least the
poisoning bit.”

“In what way is that?”

“Well, by making you get the hard drive from
Greg to look for deleted stuff, and asking them to include the
history searches.”

“More luck than judgment I’d say.”

“But still, don’t you think I deserve some of
the credit? I mean fair’s fair.”

“I’m nothing if not fair,” I said.

It was getting late. I got up, opened the
front door and we went back inside. I stood for a moment looking at
the box of orchids which was still sitting on top of the dining
room table.

“So you’re going to give me a raise?”

“We’ll see,” I said, as I took her by the
hand and led her past the table and into the bedroom.

If you have enjoyed reading this book
perhaps you can recommend it to your friends; positive reviews are
always welcome too. You may also enjoy other books in the series: a
short synopsis of each book appears below. Feedback from my readers
is important to me. If you have any suggestions, comments or
observations about this book, or would like to know about future
books in the series, or receive a preview of the next
work-in-progress, please write to me at
[email protected]
.

John Hemmings

July 2015

Greg Philips’ wife, Gloria, has recently died
after suffering from chronic dementia leaving Susan, her long-lost
illegitimate daughter, a large slice of her estate. But is Susan
who she claims to be? And was Gloria mentally competent when she
made her will or was she manipulated in some way? Boston
Investigator Mark Kane is hired to discover the truth; but as the
investigation proceeds he soon finds himself embroiled in a murder
mystery
−
and as the suspects mount up he
needs all his wits about him to find out the truth and prevent
Greg’s adult sons from financial ruin or worse. As usual, Kane’s
long-time companion Lucy is there to lend him a helping hand, but
will she be able to help him solve the mystery?

Jenny Garcia has returned to Boston from a
vacation overseas little knowing that her suitcase contained a
valuable haul of illicit drugs hidden inside. When the bag is
stolen from her at the airport Boston investigator Mark Kane is
given the difficult job of retrieving the suitcase and finding out
who is responsible for putting Jenny in such terrible danger. But
when the two men who could have provided the answers are found dead
Kane has his work cut out for him. As Lucy stumbles upon a vital
piece of evidence the case suddenly takes a new turn. Has Kane been
looking in all the wrong places? And when a kidnapping puts the
whole investigation on a different footing he needs to call on all
his experience and cunning to save the victim from harm and bring
the culprits to justice.

On vacation in Thailand Lucy befriends Dale
Porter, a fellow American, but her idyllic break is cut short when
Dale is arrested for murder. She enlists Kane’s assistance and they
head to the Philippines to look for answers. Kane deputizes Lucy as
his temporary assistant investigator and together they set out to
solve the mystery of a body found floating in the sea and to try to
prove that Dale was not responsible for his death. As they travel
from Manila to Subic Bay in their quest for the truth they identify
several suspects along the way
−
including
the dead man’s widow. But the victim had many enemies too. And why
had Dale disguised the victim’s boat and concealed it in a secret
location? As they struggle to unravel the victim’s complicated life
Kane is finally driven to an unexpected and shocking
conclusion.

Don and Lisa Maddox’ idyllic marriage is
threatened when Lisa is targeted by blackmailers, and Boston
private detective Mark Kane is hired to investigate − but he soon
realizes that he is investigating more than just blackmail, and
finds himself searching for a serial killer as well − and with
trouble at the office too it’s one headache after another. But who
is responsible for the bizarre deaths? And what secret is Lisa so
desperate to hide from her husband? Kane and his newly appointed
assistant investigator Lucy head west to The Twin Cities to look
for answers but they are plagued with setbacks and are met with a
wall of silence. As Lucy observes, “It’s as if some malign force
keeps putting obstacles in our way.” But Kane and Lucy must find a
way forward if they are to thwart the blackmailers and find the
killer.

Kane and Lucy’s new adventure will be
available soon. Release date August 2015.