Watching the Ghosts (33 page)

He tried to say something, to ask what the hell she was doing there and how she got in, but no words came. As he watched her he realized that he knew her. He had seen pictures of his mother, even though his father's second wife had tried to destroy them all. And now she was here . . . accusing him.

She lifted one emaciated arm to point in his direction and he closed his eyes tight, trying to block out the unbearable. And when he opened them again, she had vanished.

He wasn't normally prone to bad dreams and he was surprised at how much it had shaken him. But he knew that in the morning the terror would have vanished like dew.

He fell into a fitful sleep but the nightmare didn't return. Then at dawn he was awoken by a loud hammering on the door. It took him a few moments to come round and in his confusion he thought he saw the figure of his nightmare again, standing in a far, shadowy corner of his room, with a smirk on her bloody lips. But when he looked again he saw nothing. His mind was playing tricks.

He stumbled out of bed, pulling on his dressing gown, and when he opened the door he found DCI Thwaite and DI Plantagenet standing there. He could see a couple of uniformed constables behind them. And he knew what they'd come for.

‘Peter Brockmeister called in his lawyer last night. He said he tried to contact your late father but he ended up speaking to you. Said you'd built up quite a relationship. He's decided to make another statement concerning the death of your wife, Melanie,' Plantagenet said before reciting the words of the formal caution.

Jack Hawkes bowed his head. His fortunes had suddenly dived.