Shadow of Suspicion (Haunted by the Past) Read Free Page A

brown eyes, so like his own.
    “You have to stop blaming Jenna for
what happened with Adam,” he told her bluntly. “She was not at fault. Adam was
and to a degree, so were our parents.”
    Fay flung his arms away from her and
shot back several paces. “How can you say that? If it hadn’t been for her, Adam
would still be alive. Mum and Dad would still be together! You know that!”
    “No, that’s not true. Jenna simply
told Adam that she didn’t want to be his girlfriend. Was that really so
terrible? Would you go out with a guy you didn’t have feelings for?”
    Fay glared at him, but he forged
ahead. “Adam should have taken her rejection with good grace and simply been
happy with being friends. He didn’t. He threw a huge tantrum. It was his own
idiocy that killed him.” He shook his head sadly and hooked his thumbs into the
waistband of his jeans. “If Mum hadn’t spoilt him so much and made him think he
could have anything he wanted, maybe he would have dealt with Jenna’s rejection
better.”
    “Is that what you really think?” Fay
asked, her face white and strained.
    “It is,” he assured her.
    He only wished he’d had the guts to
say it before, especially to Jenna. It bothered him no end that the poor woman
had suffered such a terrible breakdown and still thought every member of Adam’s
family blamed her for his death. Jason never had and he should have told her
that at the time.
    “Why did you never say this before?”
Fay’s eyes shot accusations at him.
    “Because nobody ever wanted to hear a
word against Adam. He’s been immortalised as a hero who died tragically instead
of the truth.” He sighed. “He was spoilt rotten because of his talent as a
diver. I doubt you remember that about him, considering you were so young at
the time. I’m tired of hearing Jenna blamed when all she did was stand up for
herself and tell him no. Heaven knows, it would have done him good if a few
other people had done the same throughout his life. I truly believe he would
still be alive now if they had.”
    Fay sank back onto the sofa, the
fight seeping out of her body. She leaned her elbows on her knees. A tear
slipped down her cheek and she wiped it away impatiently with the back of her
hand. She opened her mouth but the doorbell rang and stopped her words.
    “That better not be Lucinda back
again!” Fay growled, her hands curling into fists.
    Irritated, Jason stomped to the door.
He didn’t have the patience to go through another round with Lucinda. He peeked
through the spyhole and groaned.
    “It’s Dad,” he told Fay as he opened
the door. His father marched in and dumped a bag onto the living room floor.
Douglas Hawkes ran a hand through his thick silver grey hair. His furious gaze
landed on Jason and his lips pursed underneath his thin handlebar moustache.
    “Can I stay the night?” His eyes
scanned the room. Surprise lit his features as he spied his daughter slumped on
the sofa. “Fay? What the heck are you doing here?” He waved his hand
impatiently “Never mind. Probably just as well. There’s no use you being at
home tonight. Not the mood Sandra’s in.”
    “I don’t have the room to accommodate
you both!” Jason protested. “Can’t you work things out with…………”
    The doorbell rang out yet again and
he went to answer it. Jason was beginning to feel like he was in the middle of
Piccadilly Circus. What did a guy have to do for some peace in his own home?
Sandra flew into the flat before he could utter a word.
    “You are not dumping me with this!”
she yelled at his father, her expression murderous. She poked Doug in the chest
with one long fingernail. “You got me into this, you’re damn well going to be
there when she arrives! In fact, you can be the one to tell her to go home!”
    “I don’t get you, Sandra. This is
your daughter we’re talking about. How can you not want to see her? Aren’t you
in the least bit curious to know how she’s turned out?” Doug