from CHAPTER ONE

(CONTEXT: When Kate Galway was just three years old, the body of her beloved aunt Emma was discovered—an apparent suicide. Now Kate has returned to her childhood home, an island off the Welsh coast, to bury her grandmother, where she is confronted with the islanders’ suspicions that her aunt was murdered all those years ago. )

With the formalities of the funeral behind her, Kate felt herself begin to relax.

A giddy shriek of female laughter drew her attention to a crowd of older women surrounding artist David Sutherland, Meredith Island's most famous native son, and according to Alex, the A-list of contemporary British artists. Kate reckoned he must have been going on seventy but looked younger with a full head of faded blonde hair. Unlike so many older people whose faces fatten to blur their original features, his face had managed to retain its high cheekbones, deep-set eyes, and a jawline softly rounded yet remarkably unbroken by jowls or creases around his mouth. As a young man, he must have been stunningly attractive.

David looked over at Kate. She lowered her gaze, embarrassed that she’d been caught staring, and quickly scanned the room for her daughter. Alex was being plied with large pieces of Madeira cake by three elderly men known to the islanders as Feebles, Gooley, and Smee, which had always struck Kate as an excellent name for a Dickensian law firm.

Alex excused herself and came to stand beside Kate.

“You’ll be struggling to get into those power suits if you eat any more cake,” Kate teased.

Alex licked the stray crumbs from her lips and laughed. “Uncle Gooley says I need some meat on my bones, so he’s taken it upon himself to fatten me up.”

“I can’t say I disagree, but did you tell him you spend thousands of pounds a year to sweat at some posh gym to keep your bony figure?”

“I think he’d be shocked and quite probably disgusted. I'm sure I’d be if I were him.” Alex stared at the people in the pub. “God, I love this place.”

As a child, Alex had divided her summer holidays between the Galways and James’s mother in her Cheshire cul-de-sac whose residents spent their days deadheading roses and taking an inordinate delight in keeping each other informed about any curious goings-on. But it was on Meredith Island Alex had been free to be herself.

Alex smiled and wiped a tear from her cheek. “I seem to be getting sentimental.”

“It’s a day for being sentimental.” Kate gave her daughter a quick hug. “Right, I think I could do with another drink.”

In Alex's absence, Kate’s attention was once again drawn to where David Sutherland continued to hold court. Judging from the expressions on the faces of his female admirers, Kate wasn’t the only one who found him easy on the eye. Fiona Caldicott, who looked two sizes smaller than her mauve print dress, stroked David’s arm like a woman whose inhibitions had vanished with her last gin and tonic.

Alex returned and handed Kate her whiskey. “Is Fiona flirting with David Sutherland?”

“Oh, it’s moved way beyond flirting.”

Alex raised her glass in salute. “Well, good for her. I hope I can summon up that much enthusiasm for it when I’m her age.” Alex stared intently for a moment. “David’s looking good. Do you think he’s had work done?”

"Alex!"

"C’mon, Mum. He definitely does something with his hair. As for the rest, well, he can certainly afford it. I mean, you can’t buy a David Sutherland painting for less than £80,000.”

“That much?”

David disentangled himself from his ladies and started to walk towards Alex and Kate.

“Oh God, he saw us,” Kate whispered. “That’s twice he’s caught me staring.”

“Well, he must be used to it. You can't deny it’s a nice view.”

“Kate, Alex, my sincere condolences.” David kissed them both lightly on the cheek and took Kate’s hand in his. He looked closely at her, as if searching for something familiar in her face. At last he said, “Lilian was a wonderful woman. We’ll all miss her.”

Kate teared up again. The realization that her family were all gone pressed hard on her heart.

“You were friends with Emma, weren’t you?” Alex asked him.

Once Alex got something into her head, it was hard to stop her. Kate wished her daughter would leave it alone. There had been enough talk about Emma today.

David looked down to where his hand still held Kate’s. He gently released it. “I was.”

People within earshot of their conversation had become quiet.

“We both were.” Fiona approached, her voice uncharacteristically loud from the drink.

“Please, Fiona,” David pleaded, as if anticipating what was coming.

“You want to know about the suicide, don’t you, my dear?” she said to Alex. “She didn’t kill herself. I know that for a fact. I know how much she had to live for. And you know that too, David.”

Fiona was so tiny with her sloping shoulders and flat chest, yet her blue eyes were sharp with a ferocity that surprised Kate.

“Miss Caldicott, let’s get you home.” Reverend Imogen took Fiona’s arm. “The day’s obviously been too much for you.”

“We trusted the police with their science and fancy ways of getting to the truth, but they let us down. We should have spoken up, all of us, insisted they do more.” Fiona voice was shaking. “But we failed her. We failed Emma.”

As she manoeuvred Fiona toward the door, Imogen offered Kate an apologetic, embarrassed look. “I’m so sorry.”

Kate looked toward David who was staring into his empty glass. He seemed to be avoiding her gaze. “Mr. Sutherland, you said you were Emma’s friend.”

David’s eyes were watery as if he was remembering something bitterly sad. “And I want to believe she’d have come to me before taking her own life. The suicide note rules out an accident, and if it wasn’t suicide...”

Kate couldn’t help but finish his thought. Then it was murder.

She stared at the familiar faces in the room, the people she considered her family.

And if it was, the killer could be standing in this very room.

***Secrets in the Water*** by Alice Fitzpatrick.

About Secrets in the Water:

Emma Galway's suicide has haunted the Meredith Island for fifty years.

Back on the island to lay her grandmother to rest, Kate can't avoid reflecting on the death of her aunt. Learning that her late mother had believed Emma was murdered and had conducted her own investigation, she decides to track down her aunt's killer. With the help of her neighbour, impetuous and hedonistic sculptor Siobhan Fitzgerald, Kate picks up where her mother had left off. When the two women become the subject of threatening notes and violent incidents, it's clear that one of their fellow islanders is warning them off. As they begin to look into Emma's connection to the Sutherlands, a prominent Meredith Island family, another islander dies under suspicious circumstances, forcing Kate and Siobhan to confront the likelihood that Emma's killer is still on the island.

About Alice Fitzpatrick:

Alice Fitzpatrick has contributed short stories to literary magazines and anthologies and has recently retired from teaching in order to devote herself to writing full-time. She is a fearless champion of singing, cats, all things Welsh, and the Oxford comma. Her summers spent with her Welsh family in Pembrokeshire inspired the creation of Meredith Island. The traditional mystery appeals to her keen interest in psychology as she is intrigued by what makes seemingly ordinary people commit murder. Alice lives in Toronto but dreams of a cottage on the Welsh coast. To learn more about Alice and her writing, please visit her website at www.alicefitzpatrick.com.