Step two, use the cover of night.
Or else you’ll give a huge fright,
To the birds and the bees,
The plants and the trees,
They don’t want this hideous sight.
Step three, dig deep and true,
Or it’s prison cell living for you.
The body will smell,
And indeed swell.
That thing should not be in view.
Step four, you will need your best sister,
Your most loyal friend, go enlist her.
She’s your ride or die,
Emphasis on… die.
Now this all becomes but a whisper.
EPILOGUE
ONE YEAR LATER
FAYE
“Well,” I turn to the young woman in the crowd, “they say to write what you know. So, I did.”
I look out at the sea of faces – many more than I’m used to at a book launch – and watch them chuckle and smile politely at my little joke.
None of them have any idea which book I’m making the comment about. They think I’m referring toThe Phantom Half, the memoir I wrote, detailing my journey to finding Claire, being kidnapped by her stepson and discovering how the strange, twisted Dina masterminded it all. But I’m really joking about the final Palmer Twins novel, where the twins kill and bury the over-arching villain in the series.
“Mum, I’m so proud of you.” Penny pulls me into a huge hug once the talk is over.
“It was really wonderful, Faye.” Alistair places a glass of champagne in my hand and a kiss on my lips. After I got back from Scotland, we met for a drink and worked things out. The reunion was full of apologies from both sides, me for covering up the diagnosis and him for shutting me out. We made a promise to one another to take things one day at a time and just enjoy ourselves, which was a pledge I was more than happy to agree to. Now we have been almost inseparable for a year, and I thank my lucky stars I didn’t lose him.
Nathan walks into the shop, closing his dripping umbrella. “Am I late?”
“You missed the whole thing!” Penny chastises. “But she was great.”
“Sorry,” he says with a slight smirk. “Traffic was terrible. Forgive me?”
“Of course,” I say, pulling him into a hug.
I’m more inclined to forgive the crimes of a child now. Despite the tragedy that occurred because of what he did.
Book sales for both the final Palmer Twins novel and the memoir are my best yet. I’m not too proud to admit that the infamy surrounding my kidnapping, along with the discovery of my twin sister, is certainly a driving force behind many of those sales. Shalina called it “a media frenzy”, and a lot of people are going back to book one in the Palmer Twins series to discover how it all started. It seems my living nightmare has turned into my publisher’s dream.
A year has passed since we rolled Magnus Blackburn into the grave he dug himself. Claire and I don’t talk about it. There appears to be an understanding between us that we don’t want our relationship to be defined by it. After we got back, she took a leaf out of her cleaner’s book and went on a long cruise. The start of her new life, no husband or stepson to control her every move. She sends me regular photo updates from her travels and we’re working out where we’re going to go together next.
