Time To Play by KA Richardson (best book club books of all time TXT) 📗

going in a home. “In sickness and in health” I said, “for better or worse”. It’s my job to look after her now she’s ill.’

‘But, Dad, she would have—’

‘No, son, she’d have stopped herself. She wouldn’t hurt me, despite everything, somewhere deep inside I know she loves me. She threw the glass out of frustration. It was just bad luck that it hit the sink and not the pile of clothes waiting to be washed on the side.’

‘Dad, she had a knife. If I hadn’t grabbed her arm, she’d have stabbed you with it.’ Connor felt his voice rise with exasperation. How could his dad not see what would have happened?

‘You’re wrong,’ said his old man, shaking his head firmly. ‘Your mother wouldn’t cause me any pain, not deliberately. She’s calmed down now. It’s all fine.’

‘And what about next time? What about me not being here if she gets her hand on a knife then? Stop burying your head in the sand, Dad. You can’t cope with this anymore. She needs to go into a home.’

‘I said NO!’ his father roared, before getting to his feet and storming from the living room.

Connor put his head in his hands. What the hell was he supposed to do when his dad was in complete denial and couldn’t see what was happening, let alone do anything to help himself, or his mum. Marie was due back at the weekend; she’d have a heart attack when she saw how bad things had become. It was getting to the point where Connor might have to move back home to help his dad or go over his head and report his mum himself. His dad’s pig-headed stubbornness was going to end up getting him hurt, Connor was sure of it.

‘Always did have a temper, your father.’ His mother started up. ‘But I always told him, if he ever hurt you kids then he’d be out of that door faster than you could say “daft mick”. You never saw, you were too young, and make-up did a wonderful job.’

Connor sat back and digested his mother’s flippant comments. He’d never seen any evidence that his father had hurt his mother. Was this just the Alzheimer’s talking? Or could it have been a relationship she’d had prior to meeting his dad? Shaking his head, he knew he’d never find out the truth. His mum would ramble on and then end up on a tangent, and his dad would storm off if he was confronted. But it had him worried. Maybe he needed to talk to his dad about it, see whether there was any truth to the allegation.

It had been such a flippant comment, so brief and just in passing. For a moment, he wondered whether he’d even heard it at all. Maybe his uncle Fred would know better, and he would be less likely to kick off. Though Connor hated approaching him for anything. His dad’s brother had a tendency to side with his father, believing in the values of family taking care of family. His dad was adopted, and Connor found the strength of Fred’s feelings a little strange. He believed blood was thicker than water. Resolving to ring his uncle later, he left the house. He shouted goodbye to his dad – but got no reply – and locked the door behind him. Wherever his old man was, he was wrapped up in his own thoughts, and Connor would be damned if he’d make it easy for his mum just to walk out.

Cass and Alex’s Cottage – 9 November

Ali pulled his car through the wooded driveway and parked next to Alex’s white Audi. He sighed loudly. After the day he’d had all he wanted to do was go home, bury his head under the duvet and never come back out.

The post-mortem in the afternoon had been relatively fast. Nigel had quickly ascertained that the cause of death was the laceration to Daniel’s neck. He had confirmed that the male had indeed been a feast for animals of the rodent variety: he’d actually found two sharp teeth inside one of the man’s wounds. Ali shivered as he thought about how terrifying it must have been for Daniel Burton – if he’d been conscious. I really hope he wasn’t though. I’m gunna have nightmares about this poor bloke.

Giving himself a mental shake, Ali got out of the car. He was here to spend time with his family, not dwell on the happenings at work. It was getting to him though, that was the trouble. The dead eyes of the people he dealt with day in and day out had started invading his dreams, causing him to wake with a jolt virtually every night. It all reminded him of things that were better left in the back of his mind where they belonged. The water deaths had been especially hard: his memories fought to escape every time he thought about the cases.

He wasn’t the kind of person who made connections easily and he held back on friendships offered, but his family meant the world to him. Not that it had always been that way. When he was younger, he’d had a huge number of friends. But since it had happened, he’d regressed, started doubting himself more, and backing away from the people that he used to call friends.

Tonight though, he wanted to forget. He wanted to forget he was a cop and just enjoy some time with the family.

He took in the sight of the cottage as he walked towards the front door. He could completely understand why Cass and Alex loved it so much. It was a fairy tale come true. The porch light was on – it was left on permanently now – but he remembered being there when he’d been looking after Cass after she’d wound up with a killer stalking her a few years back and the light