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
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.’