The Real Katie Lavender Read Online Free PDF Page A

supportive and always so generous with her time. Although when Mum had died, Tess and Zac had had family troubles of their own to deal with – their mother was undergoing a course of chemo for breast cancer, from which, thank goodness, she had since made a full recovery. It had been a horrendous time for them all and was probably why Katie had leant on Ian to the extent she had when he’d come into her life.
    She and Tess had been friends since they’d met at a fancy-dress party in Freshers’ Week at university; along with many others, they’d been unimaginatively dressed as nuns. The only difference between them was that Tess, for some strange reason, was sporting a moustache of stupendous proportions. In their second and third year they’d lived in a house together with two other friends, and when they’d graduated they’d moved to London and shared a flat with Zac until they’d found a place of their own. For the last four years Tess had worked for a PR agency – her current clients included an ex-MP trying to put his involvement in the expenses scandal behind him and forging a new career for himself as a TV commentator, a past X Factor winner, and a celebrity chef with a new TV series and accompanying book to push. She always made her work seem fun and there were any number of interesting tales to share – she’d told plenty over lunch – but Katie knew, just as with any job, it was hard grind at times.
    That was why Katie appreciated Tess giving up her weekend to be here. She had done exactly what she’d said she would: she had distracted Katie. In fact she had done such a good job, Katie could almost kid herself that yesterday had been a totally normal day.
    But just articulating that thought was enough to set her off again. And whether or not it was the wine they’d drunk that was giving her the courage, she stood up abruptly and went inside the house to the kitchen.
    She rejoined her friend in the garden. ‘Will you do something for me, Tess?’ she said.
    Tess opened her eyes. She stretched languidly. ‘It’s nothing too energetic, is it?’
    ‘Nothing very taxing at all. It’s a silly thing, and I could easily do it on my own but I’d rather you were here when I did it.’
    Tess sat up straighter. ‘This is about yesterday, isn’t it?’
    Katie nodded. She sat in the chair next to Tess and put the envelope on the table in front of them. She gave it a tap and said, ‘It contains the name of my biological father and how to make contact with him.’
    Tess sucked in her breath. ‘OK, so no biggie, then.’
    Katie smiled. ‘No biggie at all.’
    She picked up the envelope and opened it. She unfolded the sheet of paper and smoothed it flat on the table so that Tess could read it with her. It didn’t take them long to discover what they were both looking for.
    Katie’s biological father’s name was Stirling Nightingale.

Chapter Four
    Monday morning, and sweeping out through the gates of his riverside home at Sandiford, some six miles from Henley-on-Thames, Stirling Nightingale was on his way to work.
    He couldn’t put his finger on why, but he couldn’t get his mind to settle on the day ahead. Normally when he got behind the wheel of his Aston Martin and set off early to beat the traffic, his thoughts were instantly clear and focused. Today, for instance, he should be thinking about the two client meetings he had that morning followed by a strategy meeting after lunch. But try as he might, his thoughts kept being sidetracked by a sense that something wasn’t right.
    What was it? What was his brain trying to flag up? Was there something important he’d forgotten?
    He was a stickler for detail and getting things right, and was frequently telling those who worked for him that the devil was in the detail. He ran through a mental checklist of work-related things he might have overlooked, but nothing came to mind. Next he tried home-related matters, in particular important family dates. It