Eeny Meeny - [7]
It couldn’t be true. Because why would anyone do this? What on earth did they – ‘she’ – stand to gain? She wasn’t even there to watch according to Amy, so what was the point? It couldn’t be true and yet when Helen replied to Mark’s characteristically direct question, she found herself saying:
‘I think she’s telling the truth.’
9
Ben Holland loathed his weekly trip to Bournemouth. To him it was pointless, a day lost. But the firm was very strong on face time between their various offices, so once a week Ben and Peter (Portsmouth) would share sandwiches and coffee with Malcolm and Eleanor (Bournemouth) and Hellie and Sarah (London). They would discuss the finer points of maritime law, banking litigation and international probate – before reverting to bitching about their respective clients. It was sometimes mildly informative, even entertaining, but once you’d factored in the travel from and back to Portsmouth it was all just a colossal waste of time.
This one was proving to be even worse than usual. As per normal, Ben had given Peter a lift to and from the meeting in Bournemouth – allowing his more senior colleague to drink at lunchtime. Peter was a partner with a quick brain and a record of getting results. He was also boorish, repetitive and suffered from BO. It was bad enough being in a conference room with Peter. Now he was stuck in the car with him for two whole hours. At least he would have been, if they hadn’t run out of petrol.
Ben pulled out his phone, swearing under his breath. His eyes widened in dismay.
‘No reception.’
‘What?’ replied Peter.
‘No reception. You?’
Peter checked his phone.
‘Nothing.’
A long silence.
Ben tried hard to contain his rage. How many cats had he kicked to be here, in the middle of the New Forest, with Peter, with night falling? Ben had filled the tank up at the Esso station just outside Bournemouth – the petrol was cheapest there – and yet not an hour later the tank had been empty. He hadn’t believed the fuel warning sign when it lit up, but anyway he’d been sure he’d have enough to get to Southampton at least. But moments after the fuel warning had first pinged, the car had spluttered to a halt. Sometimes life just keeps kicking you. Would they have to walk to a petrol station? Spend the night together!
‘Platinum service with the AA and what use is it?’ Peter offered helpfully.
Ben looked up and down the quiet woodland lane. Peter wasn’t saying it, but it had been Ben’s idea to cut through the New Forest. He always did this, avoiding the M27 around Southampton by using a sneaky cut-through that brought him out at Calmore, but today it had backfired badly. Ben had a feeling that this would be mentioned, but only once the ordeal was over. Peter would make great capital out of it. He was just biding his time.
‘Are you going to walk or shall I?’ asked Peter.
It was a rhetorical question. Seniority rules and, besides, Peter had ‘bad knees’. So, it was down to Ben. Looking at the map, he saw that there were some holiday cottages only a mile or two away. Perhaps if he hurried he could make it there before it got too dark. Turning up his collar against the cold, he nodded to Peter and trudged off down the road.
‘We’ll meet again…’ sang Peter. Tosser, thought Ben.
But then, suddenly, a stroke of luck. In the gloaming, Ben could make out two pinpricks of light. He squinted. Yup, no doubt about it. Headlights. For the first time that day, Ben felt his body relax. There was a God after all. He waved his hands vigorously in the air, but the van was already slowing down to help.
Thank goodness, thought Ben. Salvation.
10
Diane Anderson hadn’t seen her daughter for over three weeks. And she wasn’t seeing her now, even though Amy was pinned to her chest in a suffocating hug. They’d cleaned her up at the hospital – let her have a shower and hair wash – but she still didn’t look like Amy.
The attractive police officer – Charlie – had accompanied them home. She said it was to help Amy, to make her feel safe as she rejoined the outside world, but she was a spy. Diane was sure of that. There to wait, watch and report back. Her daughter wasn’t off the hook yet. The two uniformed officers stationed outside their door made that clear. Were they there to protect her, or stop her from running away? Still, at least they had seen off the press. A reporter from the local rag had resorted to shouting through the letterbox – asking in the coarsest terms imaginable why Amy had killed her boyfriend. The fact that the reporter was a young woman made it even worse – what possesses these people?
‘Amy shot Sam.’ That was how the stern one – Detective Inspector Grace – had put it. It didn’t make any sense. Amy would never shoot anyone, least of all Sam. She’d never even held a gun before. This wasn’t America.
She had turned to her husband, Richard, expecting him to correct the police, clear matters up, but his face had been the mirror of hers – blank shock. For a moment a flash of anger had coursed through her – Richard was never there when he was really needed – before she had pulled herself up and once again confronted the bitter present. Amy
Detective Helen Grace is on the trail of a twisted serial killer in this riveting thriller in the gripping * international bestselling series."Ruby wakes up in a strange room. Her captor calmly explains that no one is looking for her. No one wants her. Except him."When the body of a woman is found buried on a secluded beach, Detective Helen Grace is called to the scene. She knows right away that the killer is no amateur. The woman has been dead for years, and no one has even reported her missing. But why would they? She s still sending text messages to her family.Helen is convinced that a criminal mastermind is at work: someone very smart, very careful, and worst of all, very patient.
Детектив-инспектор Хелен Грейс расследует серию преступлений, в каждом из которых похищены два человека. Похититель ставит свои жертвы перед страшным выбором – убить другого или умереть самому. Как долго продолжится эта смертельная игра, зависит только от Хелен. Ведь этими похищениями маньяк шлет послание лично ей.
Detective Helen Grace faces her own dark compulsions in the new thriller from the international best-selling author of Pop Goes the Weasel and Eeny Meeny.In a world where disguises and discretion are the norm, and where one admission could unravel a life, a killer has struck, and a man is dead. No one wants to come forward to say what they saw or what they know – including the woman heading the investigation: Detective Helen Grace.Helen knew the victim. And the victim knew her – better than anyone else.
THE FOURTH DI HELEN GRACE THRILLER BY BESTSELLING AUTHOR M J ARLIDGE 'Helen Grace is one of the greatest heroes to come along in years' JEFFERY DEAVER In the dead of night, three raging fires light up the city skies. It's more than a tragic coincidence. For DI Helen Grace the flames announce the arrival of an evil she has never encountered before. Because this is no firestarter seeking sick thrills, but something more chilling: a series of careful, calculating acts of murder. But why were the victims chosen? What's driving the killer? And who will be next? A powder keg of fear, suspicion and dread has been laid.
From the international bestselling author of Eeny Meeny comes the second thriller in the truly excellent series * featuring Detective Helen Grace."A man s body is found in an empty house.A gruesome memento of his murder is sent to his wife and children."He is the first victim, and Detective Helen Grace knows he will not be the last. But why would a happily married man be this far from home in the dead of night?The media call it Jack the Ripper in reverse: a serial killer preying on family men who lead hidden double lives.Helen can sense the fury behind the murders.
Думала ли я, отправляясь в языковую школу в Лондон, что эта поездка раз и на всегда изменит мою жизнь? Но назад дороги нет, и что будет дальше — смогу решить только я сама.
Раскрытие преступления через много лет. Через множество сомнений и подозрений пришлось пройти героям, прежде чем они нашли истину.
Влекомов, сотрудник оборонного НИИ, посещает бывшую супругу с намерением вкусно поесть и немного выпить. Выясняется, что бывшая увлеклась идеей быстрого обогащения путем призовой торговли. Пытаясь её образумить, Влекомов сам впутывается в сомнительное дело, собирая компромат на организаторов.
Эта история начинается с ограбления с трагическим финалом: немолодой хозяин загородного дома погибает от рук неизвестных преступников. Однако в этой истории оказывается не так все просто, и сам погибший несет ответственность за то, что с ним произошло. Рассказ «Вода из колодца» седьмой в ряду цикла «Дыхание мегаполиса». Главным героем этого цикла является следователь Дмитрий Владимиров, который на этот раз должен разобраться в хитросплетениях одной запутанной семейной драмы.
Многие наши современники мечтают о богатой жизни, проводимой в комфорте и в удовольствиях. Но как достичь желаемого? Находятся люди, готовые в погоне за высоким достатком совершить преступление. Но принесет ли им это долгожданное обогащение? Смогут ли они избежать наказания? Рассказ «Собиратели слонов» третий в ряду цикла «Дыхание мегаполиса». Главным героем его является следователь Дмитрий Владимиров, которому в этот раз предстоит найти человека, совершившего дерзкое ограбление инкассаторов.
