But Not Forgotten – A Gripping Murder Mystery
A serialised novel
“I think I’m your sister. Our father is missing.”
After receiving a call from the sister he didn’t know existed, private investigator Barty Symonds travels to a village in the beautiful New Forest to find the father who abandoned him years ago.
Then someone dies, and all eyes in the tight-knit community turn to the newcomer, the outsider, and Barty finds himself not only in the role of investigator…
But prime suspect.
16
Tyler stretched out his leg and caught the edge of the crisp packet with his trainer. Dragging it towards him, he grabbed the rest of his sausage roll.
“No need to worry about me.”
Mary looked at him. “You’re not put off me then?”
“Because of your dad? Nah.” He bit into his sausage roll. After swallowing the bite, he said, “Nothing could put me off you.”
They sat quietly side by side for a while, eating and cuddling close. When the food was almost gone, Tyler faced Mary.
“You’re not alone, you know. In the arena of parental drama, I mean. If that helps.”
At first, Mary thought he was making a general point about how lots of people suffer, and so she should get on with it. She almost snapped. Almost. Then she saw his expression and the faraway look in his eyes.
“You mean your parents?”
“Yeah. I don’t talk about it much. Most of my friends don’t know zip about my mum and dad.”
“You don’t have to talk about them now.”
“No, I know.” He clasped her hand. “I want to.”
“Okay.”
“And I don’t mean this to diminish your experience. It’s just I think we have a lot in common.”
Mary smiled and kissed her new boyfriend.
Boyfriend.
Just thinking the word sent a shudder of pleasure up her spine, but she forced a sober expression onto her face as she settled beside Tyler and listened.
“My parents were born and bred in Pivert. Mum was one of the smartest kids in her year, all the way through school. She applied to some of the country’s top universities and was accepted by her first choice on results day. She went out celebrating – a party in the woods. Almost everyone from her year was there. One of them hit on her. She knew him from school, but they weren’t close. Didn’t run in the same circles. He’d scraped the grades he needed to get into Sixth Form; only went because his parents wanted him to, and he didn’t fancy getting a job. There was never a chance he’d have applied for university. To put it mildly, he was not my mother’s kind of person.”
Mary saw where this was going. The foreshadowing in the story was evident, as was the tightness of Tyler’s jaw as he spoke.
“She was polite to the guy but eventually shook him off. When he returned later, they were both wasted.” Tyler laughed. “You met my mum now, you’d never believe she’d tasted alcohol, let alone that she’d been drunk.”
The laugh was bitter, and Mary did not return it. Her mum had been the same. Mary rarely saw her drink more than a glass of wine. She’d go for months without drinking at all. Then again, she’d never seen her father drunk until recently, either.
“Anyway,” Tyler said. “You can guess what happened. “They were drunk, they had sex, and Mum got pregnant. With me, obviously.”
Tyler met Mary’s eye and then quickly looked away. It was the first time he had shown any vulnerability, she realised. In one way, she hated to see him like that. Her heart went out to him. In another, she couldn’t help but be happy that he’d chosen to open up to her.
“Mum’s always been honest with me,” Tyler said. “She loves me with all her heart. Since I was born, she hasn’t regretted her decision to have me. Back then, seeing the line on the test, she was devastated. Like that” – he clicked his fingers – “her university dream was gone. Then there was Dad. The sex was consensual, and Dad was determined to be a part of my life. He was good to Mum, and he’s been good to me. None of that changed the fact that they had nothing in common. He offered to marry her, but she knew she could never love him. Doubted he could love her. She’d dreamed of going to university, getting a great job, falling in love, getting married and starting a family, in that order. Instead, she was a single parent with no job and no degree. It broke her heart.”
“Oh, Ty,” Mary took his hand. He flinched, and she thought he would shake her off. Then he turned his hand in hers, so they were palm to palm, and squeezed.
“Dad moved to Southampton when I was a kid. It’s only a forty-minute drive, and I see him at least once a month. He does his best, but you know what?”
Despite being afraid to ask, Mary forced herself to say, “What?”
“I hate him. I fucking despise him.” He stared at their connected hands. “He’s got a great job. He’s married and has a family with the woman he loves. He does his best with me, my step-mum treats me well, and I get on with my half-brother and sister. This isn’t about me.”
“Your mum?” said Mary.
“Yeah. Dad was never destined for anything. Mum was, and what has she got? A job she hates. She’s battled depression since before I was born. No friends. She’s never been in love. Then there’s the loss. Her mum has dementia, her dad was taken too young, and her sister way too young. It’s not fair, it isn’t.”
“She has you,” said Mary. “I bet you make her happy.”
He shrugged and grabbed the crisp packet, pulling it open and offering the bag to her. She shook her head. He ate a couple while contemplating.
“She loves me, and I do what I can, but nothing can make it right. I’d do anything to see her smile just a bit more often.”
There were no tears in Tyler’s eyes, but he was shaking with the power of his grief. Unlike him, Mary was struggling with tears over his sadness. She put her arms around him and pulled him in for a hug.
“You’re not alone,” he said. “You have me. I understand, and if you’re worried about Paige or your dad, we don’t have to tell anyone we’re dating. I don’t mind.”
Afraid as she was of what her father and Paige would do if they discovered the new relationship, this should have been ideal for Mary. Instead, she broke the hug, met her new boyfriend’s gaze, and shook her head.
“No.”
“No?”
“I like you, Ty. I really like you. If you like me, too—”
“I do.”
“Well, I don’t want to hide what we have. I don’t want to be afraid. I want to be your girlfriend. I won’t conceal that from anyone. Not if you don’t want to.”
Smiling, cupping his girlfriend’s chin, Tyler said, “Screw everyone else. Screw what they think. No, I don’t want to hide. I just want to be with you.”
They kissed and snuggled on the tree stump. Despite what Tyler had said about his mum and what Mary was dealing with, with her parents, Mary found herself smiling broadly as she held her boyfriend’s hand and stared into the trees.
Latest posts by Mark Ayre (see all)
- Chapter Sixteen - 02/06/2025
- Chapter Fifteen - 29/05/2025
- Chapter Fourteen - 26/05/2025