Unfinished Business Read Online Free PDF Page B

effects of the brandy. “That man in the blue car who’s been stalking us is from Glasgow. His name’s Brodie MacBride. He’s a private investigator and someone - he wouldn’t tell me who - hired him to keep an eye on me because he thinks I’m in danger.”
    “From who?”
    “You, you pillock, because apparently you’re a murderer.”
    He gave her a patronising smile that made her blood boil. “And you believed him?”
    “Not until he showed me some newspaper cuttings of you in handcuffs being led in and out of court when you were on trial. At first I thought he must have mixed you up with Seth, there was no way you could do something like that and it was easy to believe that psycho could murder his own dad, but you? Never. Turns out it was you Mark, there was no doubt and if you even try and deny it I will leave you right now and never come back.”
    “No,” he exclaimed. “Please don’t go Sarah, I love you.”
    “Then you’d better explain and you’d better explain good because I am a heartbeat away from going straight to my solicitor to start divorce proceedings. Why didn’t you tell me?”
    “Because I thought you’d run a mile and who could blame you? When we first started seeing each other I kept telling myself I’d only tell you if we got serious.”
    “You don’t call ten years of marriage and two kids serious?” she cried.
    “Of course I do, that’s not what I mean.” He closed his eyes and dragged in a deep, steadying breath. “Things were going so well and I didn’t want to ruin them. Then we got engaged and I chickened out. When we got married it seemed too late.”
    “You bastard.”
    He opened his eyes and gave her his best pleading look. “I know and I’m sorry. You had every right to know exactly who you were marrying but I spoke to Mum about it and she said…”
    Sarah’s lip curled with contempt at the mention of her mother-in-law. “Let me guess, she told you to keep your mouth shut?”
    “She thought it was for the best.”
    “Best for who? Not me. She’s never liked me.”
    “That’s not true.”
    “Yes it is and you know what? I don’t like her. She’s a creepy, manipulative old witch.”
    Mark didn’t argue. He didn’t dare.
    Sarah started pacing the room, wrapping her arms around herself, feeling cold and shivery. “You murdered your own dad Mark, or should I say Theo. You stabbed him twenty four times.”
    He cast his eyes to the floor and nodded. “You don’t know what he was like.”
    “Because you never told me. Well now’s your chance.”
    “He was an evil bastard Sarah. He beat the shit out of us all.”
    It was Sarah’s turn to pale. “What?”
    “The day it happened he came home from work after stopping at the pub first. He was drunk and mean and he started laying into me with his fists. It was unfortunate for him that he did it in the kitchen. If he’d attacked me in any other room in the house I wouldn’t have reached for the butcher’s knife. I remember feeling this incredible anger building up inside me with each punch and kick until I snapped. I was sick of it, I couldn’t take a single second more. I grabbed the nearest thing, which just happened to be a knife and I…I made him stop.”
    Sarah stared up at him, quiet and scared.
    “Say something, please,” he whispered.
    “I’m going to throw up.”
    She raced into the downstairs toilet and retched into the bowl but her stomach was empty so nothing came up. She straightened up, turned to the door and screamed when she saw Mark standing there, blocking her exit.
    “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you,” he said.
    A terrific pounding started up on the front door. “Sarah, are you alright?” called a Glaswegian voice. “I heard a scream.”
    “That’s him, isn’t it? That’s the fucker who did this to us,” yelled Mark.
    “You’re the one who did this Mark,” she yelled back. “Get out of my way,” she said, shoving him in the chest.
    “Sarah, open the