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Contents

Cover

Recent Titles by Jane A. Adams from Severn House

Title Page

Copyright

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Six

Recent Titles by Jane A. Adams from Severn House

The Naomi Blake Mysteries

KILLING A STRANGER

LEGACY OF LIES

BLOOD TIES

NIGHT VISION

SECRETS

GREGORY’S GAME

PAYING THE FERRYMAN

The Rina Martin Mysteries

A REASON TO KILL

FRAGILE LIVES

THE POWER OF ONE

RESOLUTIONS

THE DEAD OF WINTER

CAUSE OF DEATH

LEGACY OF LIES

Jane A. Adams

Legacy of Lies _1.jpg

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 unauthorised 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.

First published in 2007 in Great Britain and the USA by

SEVERN HOUSE PUBLISHERS LTD of

19 Cedar Road, Sutton, Surrey, England, SM2 5DA.

This eBook first published in 2015 by Severn House Digital

an imprint of Severn House Publishers Ltd.

Copyright © 2007 by Jane A. Adams.

The right of Jane A. Adams to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs & Patents Act 1988.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

Adams, Jane, 1960-

Legacy of lies

1. Blake, Naomi (Fictitious character) - Fiction

2. Ex-police officers - Fiction

3. Blind women - Fiction

4. Detective and mystery stories

I. Title

823.9’14 [F]

ISBN-13: 978-0-7278-6470-3 (cased)

ISBN-13: 978-1-78010-682-3 (ePUB)

Except where actual historical events and characters are being described for the storyline of this novel, all situations in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to living persons is purely coincidental.

This ebook produced by

Palimpsest Book Production Limited,

Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scotland

One

Even a couple of years ago, Naomi thought, she would have been reluctant to step so far outside of her comfort zone, but she felt surprisingly relaxed this time. True, last year she had ventured further afield when she and Alec had spent ten days in Tenerife, but as she had been content to spend most of that either sleeping or lounging on the beach, it didn’t really count in terms of adventure. She had been surprised, though, at how unbothered she had been when preparing for this trip. Perhaps that was because in her sighted days she had known this area well. Family holidays spent visiting relatives on the Fens, cycling and walking beneath the big skies that overarched the flat landscape, made this familiar territory.

She had never visited Alec’s uncle Rupert, though. In fact, she had barely registered that he had an uncle Rupert – or Uncle Rupe as he called him – until Alec had announced that the old man had died.

‘How old was he?’ Naomi had asked.

‘Rupe is … was … Dad’s older brother. Dad is seventy this year and I think Rupe must have been seventy-six, or thereabouts.’

‘How did he die?’

‘Ah, well that’s the odd thing. It seems Rupert had a heart condition I didn’t know about. He went out walking one day, collapsed in the middle of nowhere, and was dead by the time a couple of hikers came across him.’

‘That must have ruined their day. Sorry, that was flippant. Were you close? When’s the funeral. Will there be problems getting the time off?’ Naomi remembered from her own time as a police officer, just how hard it could be to take holidays without a lot of prior warning. ‘Are we going?’

‘You want to go with me?’

‘Don’t see why not. I know you hate funerals. We can give your parents a lift over. Doncaster way, isn’t it?’

‘Lord, you have a memory like an elephant. I can’t have mentioned him more than a couple of times, and no, we weren’t close, though I liked him a lot. But Mum and Dad won’t be going. They and Rupe had a major falling out, years ago. I doubt Rupe dying will change the way Dad feels about him. I mean, I’ll ask, but I think the answer will be no.’

And the answer had been no. Naomi had been there when Alec broached the subject. His mother had added her voice to his pleading that Rupe was dead now and Arthur, Alec’s father, should let the past go, but he was adamant and in the end Alec had given in. Surprisingly though, Arthur had stolen a moment to speak to Naomi just before they’d left.

‘I’m glad the two of you are going, actually,’ he said awkwardly. ‘What happened between myself and Rupert, well, it was a personal thing and perhaps the two of us should have made peace somewhere along the line. But my quarrels shouldn’t be my son’s and I’m well aware that Alec kept in touch with his uncle.’

‘You didn’t mind?’

‘What was there to mind?’

‘But you still feel you can’t go to his funeral?’

‘No, I can’t go. Naomi, funerals are an opportunity to say goodbye to those you love and respect. Honour, I suppose. I don’t think I quite stopped loving Rupe, which is why I’m glad Alec kept in touch. I believe everyone deserves to have some family, some connection, if you see what I mean. But respect? No. I didn’t honour or respect my brother, so my going to pay my respects would be somewhat hollow, don’t you think?’

And so, Naomi thought, it was just the two of them. Three, if you counted Napoleon, Naomi’s guide dog, snuffling on the back seat, snoring and twitching as he dreamed.

‘Must be chasing rabbits,’ Alec said.

‘Napoleon’s an urban dog. I doubt he’s even seen a rabbit. Wouldn’t recognize one if he saw one.’

‘Trace memory,’ Alec said wisely. ‘All dogs have a trace memory of rabbit chasing.’

‘Well, out here, he might just get the chance.’

‘If Uncle Rupe’s garden is the way I remember, he might get the chance in there.’

‘Big garden, is it?’

‘Fallowfields was once a farmhouse. Rupe bought it with an acre of land, started to create a garden and then, typically, got bored. The section around the house, maybe a third of the land, is landscaped and lawned and all that. The rest … well, I seem to remember he called it his meadow. In the spring it’s all wild flowers and scrubby, self-seeded birches.’