Taste of Fury by M Comley (dark academia books to read txt) 📗

a thing when a family member hears of a loved one’s death. “Do you fall out a lot?”

“As she’s always reminding me, I’m my father’s daughter. We were close, as most fathers and daughters are.”

Katy nodded her agreement. The truth was that she and her father had been ultra-close over the years. “I get that. My dad is pretty special to me as well.”

“Now he’s gone. Our family dynamics are going to alter significantly. I’m not sure I’m going to be able to cope with Mum on my own.”

Katy frowned. “Care to tell me more?”

“She’s under the doctor for mental illness. Dad abused me when I was ten and she hasn’t forgiven herself for letting me down, for not being able to protect me.”

“I see. I’m sorry to hear that and yet, you’re telling me you were really close to your father.”

Sammy shrugged. “Don’t ask. It was just the once. He swore he wouldn’t do it again. Told me it was a one-off, and I believed him. It was.”

“Did your father say why he abused you?”

Her chin hit her chest, and she mumbled, “Because he loved me. I know, I’ve tried to tell myself that he was wrong, but he was my father, someone I looked up to. I idolised him. Whether he abused me or not, I had his genes running through me. I couldn’t cut him out of my life. Mum refused to leave him because of finances, so we had to settle on making the best of a bad job. That’s why Dad used to go to the pub all the time.”

“That’s heartbreaking. How do you think you would have reacted towards your father if your mother had walked out on him?”

“I don’t know. I don’t suppose I’ll ever know, now he’s no longer with us.”

“Your mother is going to need you now, more than ever.”

“I know. I’m too angry right now to be with her. It’s not because of what she said, it’s in here.” She clutched a clenched hand to her breast. “I need to spend the day working through my feelings. I’m struggling to make sense of his death. Strange things keep circulating my mind.”

“Such as?”

“What if he was one of those sex pests? What then? What if he touched other little girls up and one of their fathers finally took revenge?”

“It’s something that we’re going to need to delve into. Did your father ever hint that he may have assaulted another child?” Katy asked compassionately, trying to put herself in Sammy’s position, to understand how confused she must be right now.

“No, never. But it’s the only thing I can think of as to why someone would want to hurt him… to kill him. He wasn’t a saint by any means, is any man? But he didn’t deserve to die at the hands of a stranger.”

“A stranger or someone he knew, we’ve yet to figure that out. I promise you I’ll get to the bottom of who it was and why they chose to kill your father. Until then, I need you to take care of your mother for me, will you do that?”

“Of course. She knows I’ll calm down after a while and forgive everything that was said downstairs. It’s what families do, isn’t it?”

“Usually, yes. You might want to start packing an overnight bag. Your mother is in the process of ringing your grandparents to ask them if you can stay there for a few days.”

“She is? Why?”

“Your mum’s worried that whoever killed your father might have plans to stop by and hurt both of you.”

Sammy’s eyes widened in shock. “No! That can’t be right, surely?”

Katy smiled. “Why don’t we err on the side of caution and get you shipped out to your grandparents, just in case?”

Sammy shot out of the bed and ran to her wardrobe. She dragged a large holdall off the high shelf and started throwing in some underwear, jumpers and jeans. Her packing was complete within less than five minutes. “Should I pack for Mum as well?”

“Why not? I’ll go back downstairs and let her know.”

“Thank you for the chat.”

“You’re welcome.” Katy patted her on the forearm and left the room.

Charlie and Jane were chatting quietly in the lounge, and Katy stopped for a brief moment to listen to what was being said. Charlie was consoling Jane and doing a good job of it too. Katy entered the room. Charlie looked up and smiled.

“Everything okay?” Katy asked, her gaze shifting between the two women.

“Yes, I think so. You’re going to be fine now, aren’t you, Jane?” her partner said.

Jane sniffled and wiped her eyes with a tissue. “I think so. We have to accept he’s no longer with us and get on with our lives.”

“That’s a start. Sammy should be down in a moment.”

“Is she all right?”

“I would say she’s probably confused about her emotions right now, so give her time to adapt.”

“I will. As long as we have each other, I think we’ll survive and thrive, now he’s no longer around. Over the years I’ve felt stifled in my own home, does that make sense?”

“You’re not the first abused woman to have said that, and I doubt you’ll be the last either. My advice would be not to dwell on the past too much, but to look forward. You have a close relationship with your daughter, I can tell that, even though it might seem a little strained at the moment. Give her time to adjust to what’s happened. You’ll both come through this trauma in the end, I have every confidence in you.”

Jane nodded and sniffled again. “Thank you. I believe we’re both strong and yes, we will survive. What happens now?”

“The pathologist will be in touch with you soon. Whether she’ll give you the go-ahead to view your husband or not is another matter. If she believes his body isn’t in a fit state for you to see, then you’ll have to accept that’s the case, okay?”

“I’m not sure I’d want to see him to