No Hiding Place: An edge of your seat mystery/thriller. (DI Sally Parker thrillers Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

up. She knew her mother loved her, did
everything she could to make up for not having her father around,
but Gemma still felt that she missed out a great deal in life. It
made her more determined than ever to ensure that Samantha didn’t
miss out on knowing who her mother was.”
    “Things were that bad during Gemma’s childhood?”
    “No, don’t get me wrong. Her
childhood was a very happy one. She just longed to see, and be
with, her mother more, rather than be farmed out to neighbours
after school. She loved her mother dearly for the personal
sacrifices she made in order for Gemma to live in a loving home, to
have decent food on the table, and clothes on her back.”
    “I see. Is her father still
alive? Did she have any contact with him?”
    Mark’s eyes narrowed and
started to twitch. “He swans into her life now and again. Mainly
when he wants to brag about something. Everything is fine between
them for a few months until Ray starts chipping away at her
self-esteem.”
    “Really? In what way?” Sally
asked, not quite believing that a father could do that to his own
daughter. Maybe she was just lucky in that respect, coming from a
loving home, bestowed with an abundance of affection from both of
her parents. She had a hard job deciding whom she was closest to.
Each of her parents had different qualities, but both of them had
always put her needs above their own when she was growing up.
Perhaps Sally being an only child had something to do with the way
her parents had treated her.
    “He’s all over her when he
first crawls back into her life, pleads with her to forgive him for
the way he’s treated her over the years, then when he’s worked his
way into her affections again— bam. ” Mark clicked his
fingers. “That’s when his true colours come to the fore, and he
just starts criticising everything she does. The last time he
visited, they had an almighty row because he slapped Samantha on
the legs for being naughty. I came home from work to find Gemma
pinning her father to the wall in the kitchen with her hand around
his throat. I literally had to drag her off him.”
    “Sounds like a real charmer.
We’ll need his address, too.”
    He opened the address book
again, flipped to a specific page, then read out Raymond Lord’s
home address for Jack to note down.
    “What happened to their
relationship after that incident?”
    “I ended up kicking him out of
the house. Gemma was beside herself, not for her sake, but because
he’d struck Samantha. She was inconsolable for days. I told her to
forget about him. Samantha doesn’t need a bully like that in her
life.”
    “Was Gemma abused by her father
during her childhood?”
    He winced and tutted. “We never
really discussed it. Her childhood was always reflected upon as
being happier once her father had left the marital home. I have no
idea what occurred when he lived with Gemma and her mum, Heather,
full time.”
    “I’ll see if I can obtain a
better insight into the father-child relationship from her mother
when we visit her later.”
    “Yeah, Heather will be better
than me at filling in the gaps in Gemma’s past. I’m sorry; my mind
is all over the place right now.”
    “There’s no need to apologise.
I think we have enough to be going on with for the time being.
We’ll leave you to care for your daughter. If anything comes to
mind that you think we should know about in the next few days, will
you contact me?” Sally handed him one of her cards as they all rose
from their seats and moved towards the lounge door.
    “Of course I will. Thank you,
Inspector. Please, find the person who did this to Gemma. I know
many cases like this go unsolved for some reason or another, but
promise me you’ll do your best to find the culprit and bring them
to justice for robbing my daughter of her beautiful mother.”
    “You have my word on that. My
team will strive to track the offender down and punish them
swiftly.”
    “That’s all I can ask.”
    He