Time to Die

Chapter Forty-Three

‘Thanks for arranging to meet up, Je

She had forgotten many of her school friends to concentrate on her career, but her friendship with Christian was something she was happy to resurrect, particularly if she gleaned any new information about the Raven. Je

‘Everyone calls me Je

Christian wrapped his hands around his mug. ‘It comes in waves. I feel guilty for talking about Felicity all the time, because people must be getting sick of hearing me go on about her. The problem is, I can’t think of anything else.’

‘Well you can talk to me. I know what it’s like to lose a loved one.’ Je

Christian nodded slowly. ‘My mother keeps telling me I should go for grief counselling, but I want to wait a few weeks, see how I feel then.’

‘That sounds sensible. I remember when my mum died I didn’t want to talk about her to anyone. Now … well, I’m moving forward with my life, and I think she’d be happy about that.’

Christian drew in a small intake of breath. ‘How insensitive of me, waffling on about myself after you losing your mum at such an early age.’

‘Don’t be daft. I don’t have the monopoly on grief,’ Je

Christian gave a faint smile. ‘I can’t tell you how good it is to meet up with someone from the old days. The showbiz scene is everything I ever wanted, but some of the people I work with are very jaded. That’s what I liked about Felicity, she was so exuberant, so full of life. She loved being in the spotlight, but she never forgot her humble begi

Je

‘Don’t think that for a second, and I didn’t mean what I said before about warning you something was going to happen. The only person to blame for this is my cousin. I’m convinced of it now. I haven’t had one phone call from him since Felicity died. Killing Felicity was revenge for me refusing to take him in.’ Christian paused to swallow his coffee. ‘I’ve written down some things about my cousin that I didn’t mention before; perhaps it might help with your enquiries.’

Christian spent the next twenty minutes filling Je

Her phone began to vibrate on the table and she frowned at the unknown number. ‘Sorry, Christian, do you mind if I take this?’

‘Go ahead, I’ll get us another coffee.’

Je

‘Hello?’ Je

‘Wait, Je

Je

‘It’s me, dad.’

Her stomach flipped. It was her turn to remain silent, and it took several hellos before she spoke.

‘How did you get my number?’ she said, a trickle of fury rising within.

‘I took it from Amy’s phone.’

‘You took it, not asked for it I presume.’

‘I don’t want to argue, Je

Je

‘You seem to be carrying a lot of anger. I think it would be good for us to talk about things, move forward.’

You want to blame me for everything you mean, Je

Je

She shrugged apologetically as she accepted another coffee. ‘It’s my dad. I haven’t heard from him in a decade and suddenly he wants to be friends.’

‘I take it that you don’t want to?’ Christian said.

Je

‘You don’t know my father. He can’t take responsibility for anything, including his own emotions. He’ll always look for something, or someone, to fix things, because he can’t do it himself. He tried it with the booze and now he’s trying it with me. I’m not having it.’

‘Sounds like you’ve given it a lot of thought.’

Je

‘Actually you’re wrong. I remember what it was like for you growing up. From what I heard, your father was no help at all.’

‘Oh yeah? You must have thought we were a right band of commoners,’ Je

‘I wouldn’t say that. I remember my parents talking about what a great police officer your mother was. Mum used to say that she made it her business to know everyone in Haven. Of course, the place was a lot smaller back then. But they were very sad when she died. I don’t think your father was seen as a bad person, but it was no secret that he liked a drink. I think you’ve done very well with your life, considering all the upset you’ve been through.’

Je