A peek into The Truth in their Lies | Sunday Observer

A peek into The Truth in their Lies

8 November, 2020

Continuing the weekly series of excerpts from the detective crime thriller novel The Truth in Their Lies by Sri Lankan author Amanda Wickremarachchi, The Youth Observer brings its readers the second installment of excerpts from Amanda’s novel to offer another glimpse into The Truth in Their Lies…

The sudden sound of shattering glass broke the silence. Winnie Norman sat up straight on her couch then froze, her eyes darting towards the source of the noise… the kitchen. She relaxed. That damn stray cat! Probably broke a dish trying to steal food again.

She put down her newspaper and stood up. Then she headed to the kitchen and switched on the lights. The window was broken, there were slivers of glass pieces all over the floor. She felt cold wind blowing through. She cursed whatever stray had shattered the glass; yet another repair that would cost more money!

She looked around the room to see if the cat was still around, then sighed and promised herself she would clean the mess up tomorrow. She switched the lights off and turned back to the living room. Winnie gasped when she saw the figure of a man standing in her way, just inches away from her.

It didn’t take her long for realise it was the same man in the mask from the lawyer’s office. She tried to back away, her heart thumping fast against her chest as her fear began to overcome her. Winnie backed up against the wall and cried out, “I didn’t tell them anything! I swear!”

The masked man slowly backed away, shaking his head. He sounded like he was chuckling. He lifted his gazed directly at her. “You just lied to the wrong man, Mrs. Norman.”

She froze. Her voice trembled as she stammered, “How… how did you know my name?!” The unknown man laughed, his voice rough and raucous. Then he lifted his hand and slowly took his mask off. Winnie’s eyes widened in shock, her mouth fell open and for the first time in her life, she had nothing to say.

“We meet again...” he said, casually, raising his chin, his voice crystal clear.

Mrs. Norman pushed back against the wall with all her might, as if she could break through and escape. She winced as a severe cramp shot up her spine, the shock of the painful spasms made her tighten her grip on the wall. “You?” she panted, through the pain.

“Surprised?” the killer tilted his head to the side, looking at her like a tiger waiting to pounce. “Life is really full of surprises, isn’t it?”

Winnie couldn’t hold on any more. The pain in her back didn’t matter. This was life or death. She released her grip on the wall and tried to run as fast as she could, but she was too weak and slow. The old lady could only get past the kitchen door before her murderer grabbed her forcefully by her red-dyed hair and shoved her to the floor so hard that her forehead slammed against the tiled floor with a sickening smack.

In pain and covered in blood form a huge gash on her forehead, Winnie tried covering her wound with her hand. She tried to crawl away from her assailant, whimpering in pain, but he was unsympathetic. His cheeks pulled back in a wicked grin and he closed upon his victim, “Any last words, Mrs. Norman?”

* * *

The author of The Truth in their Lies, kindly invites readers of the Sunday Observer Youth Magazine to share feedback about these excerpts. She can be reached via email: [email protected] and also Instagram: @amanda_wickz and Facebook : Amanda Wickremarachchi

Await another exciting glimpse into Amanda’s thriller fiction novel next week as Sunday Observer Youth Magazine continues this weekly series with another installment of excerpts from The Truth in their Lies.

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