You Had It Coming by B.M. Carroll (best fiction novels .TXT) 📕

charge her accordingly. Nevertheless, Bridget is hoping for a suspended sentence or something equally light. Hayley is a victim, too; surely, the poor girl has been through enough? The case has tested her professionalism in so many respects.

Bridget arcs the hose clockwise, showering the front garden bed with water. Last week she removed the dead wood from the underbelly of the lavender bushes; it cracked gratifyingly in her hands. A few of the gardenia bushes were beyond redeeming. She replaced them with cordylines, which have added colour and structure and fill her with pleasure every time she sees them.

She’ll never know for sure about that etching on the tree trunk. Did Dylan do it as a last-minute validation of the terrible crime he was about to commit? Perhaps he did it to stop his hands from shaking, or to make those long minutes of waiting go a little faster? Maybe it was his way of saying ‘I was here’, or even a bid to stop himself from chickening out. Bridget suspects the latter, but she will never know for certain. She can only surmise.

It’s a balmy spring afternoon. Bridget’s wearing cut-off denim shorts and a tank top, newly defined muscles on her arms and legs. She has been attending a beginners’ class at Jess’s gym. The circuit involves skipping, squats, boxing, and the agility ladder, which she never fails to get tangled in.

Bridget immediately detected Jess’s new engagement ring on Monday and offered her congratulations. Then she asked after Megan.

‘Oh, Megan is great. Madly in love. You’ve met him – Billy.’

Jess says boxing is about having someone to hate, someone you want to punch and hurt.

Bridget is not motivated by hate. The most important thing is having someone to love. Someone who can make you forget about the terrible things you see every day, who reaffirms your belief in greater goodness.

Bridget loves Shane, Cara and Ethan. Weirdly and very belatedly, she also loves her garden.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I’ll start by admitting that this was a challenging one! I never intended to have a detective as a main character, or to delve so deeply into police procedure, but the story took hold and demanded it. Maybe the fact that this is my tenth novel had something to do with it. Maybe the ‘universe’ decided it was time to shake things up a bit? Well, that certainly happened! (Says she, smoothing herself down after a wild rollercoaster ride.)

I owe a huge debt to the following people for their technical assistance and for fielding my obscure questions so good-naturedly: Kate Jenkins, Seth Gibbard, Chris Drew, Craig Campbell, Paul Anderson, Donna Heagney, Jess Wootton, Peter Yeomans and Zali Steggall. Any errors are entirely my own (however, there are several occasions when I had to stretch the truth in order to give the story momentum).

Thank you to my writer friends: Petronella McGovern, for reading the manuscript twice and giving truly excellent suggestions; Dianne Blacklock and Liane Moriarty, for being unfailingly supportive through all the ups and downs of the writing life. Thank you to the other authors who have reached out and supported me over the years. It’s so lovely to be part of this generous supportive global community.

Enormous thanks to my alpha and beta readers, who braved the early drafts and provided unflinching feedback: Erin Downey, Conor Carroll, Rob Carroll, John Newson, Christina Chipman and Merran Harte.

Thank you, Brian Cook from The Author’s Agent. Hooray: we’ve made it to the ten-novel milestone. I still remember our first phone conversation as though it were yesterday.

Thank you to my publisher, Miranda Jewess, for always getting straight to the point and not wasting time (a lady after my own heart). Thank you to all the dedicated team at Profile, Viper and Allen & Unwin.

Thank you to my family in Ireland and Australia. I don’t think there are any family-sourced anecdotes in this book … you guys need to come up with some fresh material! Thank you, Amanda Longmore, for feeding the hordes. Thank you, Ashling Carroll, for your video-editing skills. Thank you, PJ (the family dog), whose daily walks facilitate much of my thinking and plotting.

To my readers. Thank you for your encouraging messages, reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations. This novel put me well outside my comfort zone and was a learning experience in many respects. I hope you enjoy it. xx Ber

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

B.M. Carroll was born in Blarney, a small village in Ireland. The third child of six, reading was her favourite pastime (and still is!). Ber moved to Sydney in 1995 and spent her early career working in finance. Her work colleagues were speechless when she revealed that she had written a novel that was soon to be published. Ber now writes full time and is the author of ten novels, including Who We Were, published by Viper in 2020. Find her on Twitter @bmcarrollauthor or at www.bercarroll.com.