Read Written in the Scars (The Estate Series Book 4) Online
Authors: Mel Sherratt
Written in the Scars (The Estate Series Book 4) (36 page)
‘She’ll stay away if she knows what’s good for her,’ said Keera. ‘She’s ruined any chance of working in this kind of environment again, especially being charged with assault. Serves her right, too. I hate bullies.’
‘I’m glad now that I set that camera up,’ said Sam.
‘I was really nervous about it!’ said Donna. ‘Not about getting caught straight off, but about getting caught before I could get the evidence I needed to support my gut feeling.’ She smiled uneasily at Megan. ‘I owe you an apology, because I had my suspicions about you, too.’
‘Me?’ Megan frowned.
‘Megan?’ Sam and Keera spoke in unison.
‘I’m really sorry.’ Donna felt her skin flushing. ‘It was just that every time I was here, you’d pop in and I … well, I thought you were keeping an eye on Mary so that she wouldn’t say anything. Not that she would probably be able to say anything, but … Oh, you know what I mean. I thought you were trying to stop her from telling me.’
Megan nodded and smiled back shyly. ‘I was trying to protect her. I like Mary, she’s a lovely lady.’
‘She is. Talking of which. I haven’t spoken to her yet.’ Donna tapped Mary on her forearm. ‘Hi, Mum, how are you today?’
She was greeted by a smiling face. ‘Hello, love,’ said Mary. ‘I’m good, how are you?’
Donna gasped. She looked at Megan and then back to Mary. For a moment there, she’d thought her mum had recognised her. But the blank expression had come back almost immediately. It was just a face that Mary had recognised – not the face of her own daughter.
Tears welled in Donna’s eyes. ‘I wish I could have Mum back, even just for one day.’
‘Not a good idea,’ said Megan. ‘Because then you’d want another day and another day. One would never be enough.’
‘That’s very true.’ Donna smiled. ‘Well, at least I know she has you to look out for her. And that I am truly grateful for.’
‘And she’s going to look after me, too.’ Sam nudged Megan. ‘Aren’t you?’
‘You must be joking,’ said Keera. ‘That’s a full-time job in itself.’
As everyone laughed, Donna took the opportunity to look round at her family again. Each one of them had been through some kind of ordeal, but at least they were all happy for now, and safe.
Except maybe her. She looked down at the floor.
Donna hadn’t been surprised when the police had gone to Owen’s address and found the property empty. Apparently, the landlord knew him as Simon Timpson. He’d been a tenant there for six months, but had done a runner owing three months’ rent. She’d had no choice but to put it all behind her after that.
She’d be forever grateful to Sarah, for staying with her while she’d reported the attack. Like a true friend, Sarah had been there for her – was still there for her, constantly ringing her or texting her to see how she was coping, despite seeing her most days at work. She hadn’t judged her; she had just supported her through it all.
More to the point, Donna had amazed herself by how strong she had been. She knew the incident would haunt her for the rest of her life but it was comforting to know that Owen might have moved on because he thought he was going to be arrested. And now that Keera was going to Manchester, she could worry less about him attacking her daughter.
She had kept the photos of her injuries on her phone, and the text messages that Owen had sent, just in case they were needed in the future. If it ever came to light that he had done the same to some other woman, she would do whatever it took to get the bastard behind bars. He’d done enough damage not to be brought to justice.
She looked up again. It would take time, and she would try to forget what had happened with Owen. And with family and friends around her, Donna knew she would survive.
But no one would ever see the scars that had been left behind this time.
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ALSO BY MEL SHERRATT
Somewhere to Hide (Book1, The Estate Series)
Behind a Closed Door (Book 2, The Estate Series)
Fighting for Survival (Book 3, The Estate Series)
THE DS ALLIE SHENTON SERIES
A standalone psychological thriller
Word of mouth is crucial for any author to succeed. If you enjoyed reading Written in the Scars, please could I ask for a moment of your time to leave a review before you close the book? It would make all the difference and would be very much appreciated. Thank you so much.
Thank you from Mel
A huge heartfelt thank you to Sarah Hartnoll for donating to the charity, Clic Sargeant, for Children with Cancer, and for permission to use her name in memory of Bill Hartnoll. The auction raised nearly £15,000 and I was honoured to be asked to take part.
As this is my eight crime novel, I want to say a huge thank you to anyone who has read my books, sent me emails, messages, engaged with me on Twitter, Facebook or come to see me at various events over the country. Without you behind me, some of whom I call my Team Sherratt, this wouldn’t be half as much fun. I love what I do and hope you continue to enjoy my books.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ever since I can remember, I’ve been a meddler of words. Born and raised in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, I used the city as a backdrop for my first novel, TAUNTING THE DEAD, and it went on to be a Kindle #1 bestseller. I couldn’t believe my eyes when it became the number 8 UK Kindle KDP bestselling books of 2012.
Since then, my writing has come under a few different headings - grit-lit, sexy crime, erotic crime thriller, whydunnit, police procedural, emotional thriller to name a few. I like writing about fear and emotion – the cause and effect of crime – what makes a character do something. I also like to add a mixture of topics to each book. Working as a housing officer for eight years gave me the background to create a fictional estate with good and bad characters, and they are all perfect for murder and mayhem.
But I'm a romantic at heart and have always wanted to write about characters that are not necessarily involved in the darker side of life. Coffee, cakes and friends are three of my favourite things, hence I write women’s fiction under the pen name of Marcie Steele.
You can find out more at
melsherratt.co.uk
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You can find out more about Marcie Steel on Twitter as
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WRITTEN IN THE SCARS
MEL SHERRATT
All characters and events featured in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are entirely fictitious and any resemblance to any person, organisation, place or thing living or dead, or event or place, is purely coincidental and completely unintentional.
All rights reserved in all media. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form other than that which it was purchased and without the written permission of the author. This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the author.
Cover image by paperandsage.com
Written in the Scars © Mel Sherratt
E-edition published worldwide 2015
Kindle edition Copyright 2013 © Mel Sherratt