BLOOD SECRETS a gripping crime thriller full of suspense by Gretta Mulrooney Page A

that’s a relief. I can think now. He’s a puppy and it’s like having a toddler around. So Rowan’s back in town. Feeling guilty and looking for answers about Teddy, is he? Pity he didn’t want to at the time, when the poor boy was attacked. I hear Annabelle dumped him. That’s justice, at least, some small satisfaction in the scheme of things. If only Tessa had lived to hear it. I mean, I know she was a difficult woman and hard going but isn’t that what marriage is all about, navigating the good and bad times? I haven’t seen any of the family since Tessa’s funeral, by the way.’
    Swift was pleased to hear that she seemed both garrulous and spiteful. Such informants usually offered rich pickings.
    ‘I gather you don’t much like your brother-in-law.’
    She snorted. ‘He’s an utterly selfish bastard. He abandoned that family and left them to sink. My sister was never a strong woman and his leaving did her in. She never got over it. Annabelle was twelve years younger than her, you know. It was bad enough being replaced by a younger model, but your sister! I haven’t spoken to that bitch since. I’ve never understood it. I mean, Rowan wasn’t what you’d call a sexy man. I always thought he was a dry old stick but he clearly had some talents I didn’t know about.’
    ‘Did you see the family often after he left?’
    She was a fast talker, rattling out her information. ‘Once, twice a year. I couldn’t make it any more often. I had a young family myself and a job. Life was busy. I was always encouraging Tessa to visit me here but she never did. She couldn’t muster the energy to make any decisions, let alone get on a train. That’s why I got Tim to visit here sometimes. At least he got some country air and a break from being smothered by his mum. I don’t mean to sound horrible but Tessa did smother him, just like Sheila smothered Teddy. They were a rum bunch, I can tell you. To be honest, I worried about them but I was glad I lived at a distance because they got me down. Visiting was ever so depressing, with Tessa moping about, on pills or booze. I used to try to get her up and dressed, do her hair, you know — encourage her — but she usually didn’t want to know. Then there would be Sheila looming around, looking surly. She always had a sort of negative aura clinging to her. Not an attractive girl and you couldn’t get much conversation out of her. Seemed to spend a lot of time up in the loft. She said she kept stuff up there for charity shops although I can’t imagine that family having anything worth giving away. She told lots of lies as well, did Sheila. If she said the sky was grey, I’d have popped outside to check.’
    ‘Why did she lie?’
    ‘No idea. It just seemed who she was and they were usually fibs told to big herself up, saying she was a school prefect when she wasn’t, that kind of thing. I remember once she said she’d come top in all her school exams and then left her report lying around. I looked at it and it told a different story. Lots of comments of the need to try harder variety. When I challenged her she got angry with me and tore the report up. She didn’t talk to me for ages after that.’
    ‘What was Teddy like? Did he ever seem depressed?’
    ‘Well, that’s not an easy question. Quiet, basically, a bit of a shadow around the place. I used to call him the Ghost Moth when I was talking to my husband about him. We’re both amateur lepidopterists, you see. He always wore pale shirts or T-shirts and he would just give me a sweet smile in passing, then head for his room or the garden. He had such a light tread, you wouldn’t hear him moving around. Sheila was never far from him. She used to cut his hair and buy his clothes, scold him for not eating enough vegetables.’
    ‘It seems that she acted as his mother, and your sister was Tim’s.’
    ‘That’s how the cards fell, yes. Probably just as well, as Tessa wasn’t really fit for any kind of mothering