Always The Love of His Life: Dark Obsessions, #3

By Molly Garcia

Neil wakes up in a hotel room with no memory of the night before and discovers a woman's body in the bathtub. When he's arrested for her murder, Neil protests his innocence but has no way to prove it. As the police investigation unfolds, things take a dark turn when there's more deaths and incidents. With all the evidence pointing to him, Neil finds himself fighting for his freedom, desperate to clear his name and uncover the truth.
Maggie is torn between loyalty to her sister and supporting her new partner, Ash, as he works from the inside to prove Neil's innocence.
Is this Maggie's final fight, and if so is she willing to win at any cost?

Full of twists and turns, "Always The Love of His Life" will keep you guessing until the very end, and questioning whether Neil is a cold-blooded killer or the victim of a set-up that runs deeper than he ever could have imagined.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Molly Garcia
• Release date: Jul 25, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223908074

Molly Garcia

Molly Garcia lives in Spain with her partner of over 30 years, they have two grown-up children. Molly has worked in social care and the NHS since 1991 and uses her experiences to guide her writing and to create complex and realistic characters and backgrounds 

Book preview

1

Chapter One

Neil

Neil's head pounded, through his closed eyelids the daylight was a red glow.

His mouth was gummy and dry, his lips were stuck together, and he couldn't think. It was as though someone had stuffed him full of cotton wool balls, everything was muffled and hazy.

Neil rubbed his head with his hand and when he bought his hand away it felt damp and sticky. He tried to force his eyes open. This must be the worst hangover ever, he thought as pain flashed behind his eyes. He felt around him on the bed but his hand found only empty cool sheets, no Suzie next to him.

Had she already got up, or had she copped the hump at the state of him and vanished off to sleep in the spare room in protest?

Where had he been last night anyway?

Trying to push himself to find those memories there was nothing there. Just a dark curtain that seemed to hang across the part of his brain that he needed to access. It must've been a hell of a session if he blacked out, he thought.

Not like him at all, he wasn't a heavy drinker as a rule, and since his head injury, he'd been especially careful about how much alcohol he drank.

There was a strange smell in the room, it was familiar but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. His stomach lurched and churned like a washing machine on spin cycle, and he was starting to feel a bit sick.

First things first, he needed to get his eyes open, if he could see around him he'd be better able to orientate himself.

Screwing his eyes tight and then rubbing them with his closed fist to wipe away any residue of sleep he forced them open bit by bit.

At first, the light burned his retinas but slowly his vision cleared and he started to realise that he wasn't in a room that he knew. This wasn't his bedroom at home. He looked around, confused and disorientated by not being where he thought he was.

The impersonal decor and hard-wearing furniture suggested it was a hotel room. He eased himself slowly into an upright position in bed, under the sheet he was naked and he looked desperately around the room for his discarded clothes.

He couldn't see them, easing himself out of bed he wrapped the sheet around his waist like a toga. He thought he was alone but he felt especially vulnerable walking around naked.

As Neil stood up his bladder filled and suddenly the urge to pee was overwhelming.

Quickening his step he jogged to the bathroom while holding on to the sheet to make sure it didn't fall down. Lifting the lid to the toilet he almost groaned with relief as his bladder emptied into the bowl, he took his time, enjoying the sensation.

When he'd done he flushed, washed his hands, and then glanced around the room trying to get a feel for where he was. The curtain was drawn across the bathtub and he pulled it back to check out if the shower looked any good.

He needed to freshen up, find his clothes and get himself home, he thought.

The curtain was white and spotted with a red pattern that seemed random, almost like that abstract art.

At first, he didn't notice anything was amiss, he looked up at the shower head, it looked okay, and then he glanced down at the bath.

He must be imagining things, he reassured himself, there was no way what he was seeing was actually there.

A woman was sprawled across the tub, her head was tilted back over the edge, her hair fanning out across the sides. She looked asleep, her eyes were closed and her face relaxed.

The problem with the picture was the blood, it was pooled underneath her having poured out of the wide slit across her throat.

Bile rose in his throat, he held his hand across his mouth and only just made it back to the toilet to throw up whatever it was that he last ate. When he was finally spent he slid down the wall to the floor and leaned against the cold porcelain.

What in the name of fuck was going on?

But more importantly, what should he do next? Logically he knew he should call the police but how would it look when they found him alone in this room with a dead woman?

Neil dropped his head in his hands. His memory wasn't great at the best times since he'd been assaulted by his sister-in-law's psycho ex, but it wasn't just foggy, it was completely blank.

It didn't matter how much he pushed the last thing he could remember was walking into the local pub to meet with his mate.

He jumped and pulled the sheet tighter around him as he heard the room door burst open. He closed his eyes as though by not seeing he could magic himself away and wake up back home with Suzie.

It didn't work.

Looking up he could see the puzzled face of DC Greg Traymore looking down at him.

Neil?

The big man nodded numbly up at the officer and realised that he wasn't alone, the whole bathroom was swarming with police.

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Greg

It took him a moment to get over the shock of seeing Neil, naked apart from a grubby, stained sheet crouched on the bathroom floor. He looked stunned, as though he had no idea where he was, but in the bathtub, an equally naked woman with her throat cut suggested that Greg had to be careful not to let his personal feelings get in the way of his job.

Neil, I'm going to need you to come out of the room with me please.

Greg kept it short and clear, Neil looked as confused as a lost child and he wasn't sure how much the man was taking in, there was also his past head injury to take into account. He handed him over to the paramedics after explaining they'd need to take the sheet to log as evidence.

Neil collapsed into the chair he was offered and clutched the sheet to him with his large calloused workman's hands, he didn't speak but Greg understood the man's vulnerability. He knew how he'd feel if he was in Neil's shoes and facing potentially being naked in front of all these strangers. It took him a minute but he managed to get hold of a pair of forensic over trousers that Neil could put on, they'd be a bit snug on him but better than nothing at all.

Neil took them gratefully and modestly slipped them on under the sheet before handing the item over to Greg and sinking back into the chair where he stared around the room in horror.

The paramedic took Greg to one side out of Neil's hearing.

There's a nasty cut across his head, it's bled a fair bit so I wouldn't be surprised if at least some of the blood you find is his own. There's also a very big scar further down, it looks like an historic injury, it would've been a bad one in my opinion. I don't know if that's why he's so unresponsive or if it's the shock.

Greg nodded, Neil was attacked nearly two years ago, he almost died and it took him a long time to recover from the injuries. I know he still has some issues with his memory and functioning but he's mostly doing really well.

The paramedic frowned, You know him then? Should you be working the case?

Greg raised an eyebrow, Firstly I'm more than capable of being professional, but secondly I didn't even know it was anything to do with him when I got the shout. I'm here now, and I can't just up and leave until someone arrives to take over from me.

Sorry mate, I didn't really think that through did I? No offence meant.

Greg smiled, None taken. Now is he fit for arrest? One of the officers is going to have to read him his rights and take him down the nick, I don't know what went on here but until we clear it up we've got no choice but to look at the man who was sitting with the body when we arrived.

The paramedic nodded, All yours, the head wound has already stopped bleeding so I've just put a dressing across it. He'll be fine to take in.

Greg took a moment to watch Neil while he wasn't aware he was being observed, the man looked petrified, like a small child who'd lost his parents. It was a strangely vulnerable look on such a big man and he felt his heart go out to him.

He was way too close to this to be able to step back, the other problem was his Sarg was on his way, also not knowing that the main suspect was going to turn out to be his girlfriend's brother-in-law.

Greg's eyes dropped to Neil's shovel-sized hands, had he wielded that knife and sliced that woman's throat open? He couldn't see it somehow, the man was a gentle giant, not prone to lashing out as far as he'd ever known, but since he was the only person in the room what else could they do but arrest him?

The decent thing to do, the human thing, would be to call Maggie and give her the heads up, but Greg was painfully aware of how many rules that would breach. He'd leave it to Ash to decide what to do, he had the stripes, and he could have the tough choices that came with them.

Alice arrived and stood next to next to him. Out of breath and looking unusually disheveled, she was normally very smartly turned out but her trousers were creased and there was a stain that looked like sauce on her shirt. Her expression said don't ask, and only because it wasn't the time or the place for personal talk did Greg let it slide. For the last few weeks Alice had been worrying him, she was often late for work, in a rush to get off early, and looking exhausted as though she wasn't sleeping enough. He wondered if she was trying to pull double shifts with a side hustle outside of work, he hoped not, that sort of shit got you the boot and he was fond of his partner.

Alice had seen him through some of his worse times, Greg had been a mess after his husband, William, was murdered and he had Alice to thank for his recovery.

Everything okay?

Alice gave him a sharp nod before turning the conversation to the matter in hand.

What's Neil doing here?

Greg shrugged, We got a call to 999 saying someone had heard a disturbance in this room, when we arrived we put the door through and found Neil in the bathroom with a dead woman in the tub. Uniforms tried to track down the caller but none of the rooms next to this one are occupied. I haven't spoken to Neil, I don't think it's a good idea with my links to his family, so I'm waiting for Sarg to get here so he can arrange for an alternative officer to take it on.

Alice frowned, clearly as puzzled by the whole situation as he was.

Are you saying that Neil's killed someone?

Well, there's a dead woman in the bathtub and someone slit her throat open, Neil's covered in blood and the only person in the vicinity. Although a lot of that blood may well be his, he's got a nasty head wound that the paramedics have just sorted out.

Shit.

The voice swearing behind him belonged to his Sarg, DS Prakash Patel, otherwise known as Ash.

Yes Sarg, shit is probably the most apt way of describing it.

Greg filled him in on what they knew so far, and he'd only just finished when they were joined by the pathologist. Gideon Winters was a tall man who always reminded Greg of a bird of prey with his long beaked nose and the way he loomed over everyone as though waiting to pick their carcass clean.

I can't say with 100% certainty, but it looks as though the woman has been dead for a few hours at least, rigor is setting in and there's lividity where the blood's settled in the extremities. What is without doubt is that her throat was cut, I won't know if there's any other wounds until I get a closer look, but I'd bet my pension that it was the cause of death.

Gideon could see that Ash was about to jump in with an obvious question.

Before you ask, no, I have no idea who she is. She's naked for starters so no pockets to search and no handbag has shown up either, I did see what I believe is a tattoo but I can't make out the detail while she's still laying in that bathtub.

Greg could see the frustration on his boss's face, without identifying the victim they were already on the back foot.

As Gideon marched back to the bathroom to direct his crew in the safe removal of the body, Ash turned to him and sighed.

I'll need to fetch someone else in to lead this, there's no way any of us can be objective, but I'm not having us booted off the case. I'll speak to the DI and make sure we can at least run the non-contact parts of the investigation.

Greg superstitiously crossed his fingers behind his back, they needed to be on the case to keep all lines of inquiry open. He knew how it could go otherwise, It would be everything put on Neil.

2

Chapter Two

Maggie

She'd not long gone back to sleep after being rudely awakened by Ash's phone going off when her mobile rang loudly next to her ear.

Snatching it up with irritation she was surprised to see Suzie's name flash up on the screen. It wasn't like her sister to call this early on a Sunday morning, and suddenly wide awake and anxious she pressed the green answer button.

Suzie sounded as though she'd been crying, her voice was clogged with tears and she was stumbling over her words.

Oh Maggie, it's Neil, the police just called and they've arrested him, they won't tell me what for either. Can Ash find out?

Ash isn't here Suze, he got a call a couple of hours ago and raced out of here.

Suzie went quiet for a moment.

You don't think his call had anything to do with Neil do you? He was out with his mates, maybe one of them got in a fight? You know my Neil, he's not much of a fighter as a rule but if one of his friends was in trouble he'd be bound to wade in.

Maggie could hear the panic in her sister's voice. Nearly losing him after Rob attacked him had changed her perspective and made her more afraid than she once was. Rob had affected all of them, and he still did.

She shuddered at the thought that he was out there. It was six months since he'd escaped from the prison guards at his father's funeral and she was just waiting for the day when he'd come for her. Not hearing from him for all this time actually made it worse. It was the build-up of anticipation, like the cold shiver that she felt as she collected the mail. It would take all of her willpower to sift through it, afraid that one of those envelopes would have his handwriting on the front.

I can't see them being related Suze, Neil's a good man, if it's anything I expect they all got scooped up for being drunk and annoying after one too many!

Suzie was quiet for a moment, but the worry was still in her voice when she spoke.

Mags, I'm so sorry to ask, but would you come down to the station with me? I just can't face it on my own.

Maggie was quick to reassure her.

Of course I don't mind Suze, you're my sister and after everything you've done for me I owe you more than I can ever repay.

She heard Suzie sniff at the other end of the line.

Don't be daft, all this talk of owing between sisters isn't right. We're lucky to have each other.

Maggie felt a little tearful herself, it wasn't unusual, she often felt emotionally overwhelmed. So much had happened in the last nearly two years.

Suzie said she'd be over to pick Maggie up in twenty minutes, so hanging up Maggie threw on some clothes and made her way downstairs to have a quick coffee.

As the machine spluttered and hummed her mind wandered back over the events that had so changed their lives. The murder of her best friend, the assault on a colleague that had nearly killed her, and then finding out it was all down to her boyfriend, Rob. That was without the murders at her hospital last year and nearly being killed by Rob's half-sister.

As she sipped her coffee she mused over it all, not forgetting Phil, she thought wryly. The stalker who she'd often thought of as the bane of her life had stepped in front of a knife for her and nearly died as a result.

Maggie washed her mug absentmindedly and placed it on the draining board, Phil had been in intensive care for nearly 8 weeks before he'd started to slowly get better.

She'd visited him regularly at the hospital and the light of gratitude that shone in his eyes whenever she saw him made her realise how much she meant to him. She would even say they were friends of a sort, you could hardly continue to ignore the man who'd been willing to give his life for yours, could you?

Maggie heard the purr of Suzie's car pulling up outside and quickly grabbed her keys and handbag before running out of the front door.

The glow of the early morning light in the car cast shadows across Suzie's pale face. Her sister gripped the steering wheel so hard her knuckles were white with the pressure.

They barely spoke