The Shining Skull Read Online Free PDF

didn’t
     even know I had one until . . . ’ He took a deep breath. ‘One day my father took me out on the river; on his boat – he had
     a yacht, you see. It must have been May or June. It was sunny and there was a breeze. Perfect sailing weather.’
    Gerry Heffernan nodded. As a sailor himself he appreciated the niceties.
    Adrian continued. ‘When he took her out to sea he hardly said a word for a while. Then he said he had something to tell me
     . . . something important. He’d had another little boy a long time ago and he’d disappeared one day. He’d been taken off by
     wicked people and he’d never come home. I could tell he found it painful to talk about it but he said he wanted to tell me
     before I heard about it from someone else.’ He paused, swallowing hard. ‘I must admit, I didn’t really understand the enormity
     of it then. I mean, youdon’t at eleven, do you? I remember asking why the police hadn’t caught the wicked people.’ He gave another sad smile. ‘The
     young have a very naive concept of justice, don’t they?’
    ‘Simple maybe, but not altogether naive,’ said Wesley with a frown. ‘How did you feel about your father’s revelation?’
    ‘Feel?’ He inclined his head to one side. ‘I don’t know. It was hard to take in at first, I suppose. Then gradually things
     began to make sense. It explained so much. Why my father was overprotective. And why people – grown-ups – whispered behind
     my back as though they had some secret that I wasn’t allowed to hear. I’d been sent away to school at seven. I suppose it
     was thought that if I’d gone to a local school I might have found out. Parents gossip and their kids overhear and put two
     and two together, don’t they?’
    ‘You can’t keep much from kids,’ said Heffernan. ‘So this missing half-brother’s turned up on your doorstep?’
    ‘Last night.’
    ‘Where is he now?’
    ‘I don’t know where he is at this very moment but I presume he went back to Tradmouth last night.’ He hesitated. ‘If he is
     . . . if he is who he says he is, there’s quite a bit of money involved. My father, understandably, was reluctant to make
     the final acknowledgement that Marcus was dead so his will stipulated that if he was ever to turn up, he would have a half
     share of the family property. Nobody thought he actually would, of course.’
    ‘Did he know your father was dead?’
    ‘He said he didn’t. But there were obituaries in some national newspapers. My father was a very successful businessman,’ he
     added with a hint of pride.
    ‘You suspect this man who’s claiming to be Marcus could be an impostor?’ Wesley asked. The mention of money had suddenly added
     another dimension to the story . . . and not an attractive one.
    ‘When he was with me – when I was talking to him – I believed him. He seemed to remember things that nobody outside the family
     could know. And he recognised things in the house. He asked if we still had the pianola – said it had fascinated him as a
     boy, watching the piano keys move by themselves as if a ghost was playing. How could he have known about that if he wasn’t
     who he said he was? And he asked about Dad’s yacht, the
Anna’s Pride
–she was named after Dad’s first wife . . . his mother. I told him Dad had sold it shortly before his death. He said he remembered
     Dad taking him out on it.’
    ‘You didn’t ask him to stay with you last night?’
    Adrian shook his head. ‘No. He said it must have come as a shock to me and that it was best if he gave me some space. And
     of course I had Carol, my wife, to think of. It’s hardly fair on her if a stranger turns up out of the blue like that. He’s
     staying at a guesthouse in Tradmouth. He gave me his mobile number and told me to get in touch when I’m ready.’ He looked
     Wesley in the eye. ‘He must be genuine, mustn’t he?’
    Gerry Heffernan leaned forward. ‘There’s just one problem with your long-lost