Liar Liar - [23]
Helen had come here straight from work as she couldn’t face going back to her flat. Her meeting with Gardam was still bothering her and if she went home she would only obsess about it further. Better to be here, enjoying the buzz, than stewing alone.
As her eyes swept the crowds, she became aware of someone waving sheepishly to her from a table on the other side of the room. It took her eyes, her brain, a couple of seconds to process the sight, but there was no doubt about it.
Jake. Helen had never seen him in a social context – barring one exception, she had only ever encountered him in his workplace, where he played the role of dominator to perfection, never letting the real Jake through. He was on his way over now and for a second Helen was surprised to find that she was panicking, wondering what to say to him in a conversation that she hadn’t paid for.
‘I thought it was you.’
He leant in and kissed her gently on the cheek. Unlike her, he seemed completely at ease. More than that, he seemed happy.
‘I didn’t expect to find you somewhere like this,’ he continued lightly.
‘Neither did I, but it’s been a tough day, so I thought I’d come and inhale a bit of youthful optimism.’
Jake smiled, but the accidental subtext of Helen’s reply was lost on neither of them. Previously Helen had run to Jake when work had got to her, but not now.
‘How about you?’ Helen continued quickly.
‘I’m on a date,’ Jake said, pretending to be embarrassed, as he nodded towards a handsome young man, who smiled awkwardly back at them from across the crowded room.
‘Good for you,’ Helen responded, though her brain was still playing catch-up. She knew that Jake was bisexual, but such was his interest in her that she’d always assumed he was more romantically attracted to women.
‘Is this a new thing… ?’ she went on.
‘Not really,’ Jake answered, diplomatically.
‘And it’s going well?’
‘Well tonight is our sixth date, so…’
‘Wow.’
‘Yes. Wow.’ Jake laughed at himself easily and confidently.
Helen smiled, but couldn’t think of the appropriate way to respond, so said nothing. She knew so little of Jake’s romantic history that she didn’t really know if this was a big development or not. She suspected it might be.
‘And you’re ok?’ Jake queried.
‘Oh you know. Same old same old.’
Jake smiled and nodded. Conversely he knew an awful lot about Helen and understood exactly what she went through during a major investigation. For a moment, the conversation lapsed into a comfortable silence, then Helen said:
‘Don’t let me keep you, Jake. I’d hate to sabotage young love…’
‘You’re right, I’d better go. Take care of yourself, Helen.’
He leant in and kissed her once more, this time giving her a brief hug with it. She responded, but felt a sharp and sudden stab of sadness as she did so. This felt very much like Jake finally cutting loose.
She watched him return to his date and hung around for another ten minutes, not wanting Jake to think he’d driven her out by his presence. But as soon as he and his boyfriend were once more engaged in happy, tactile conversation, Helen slipped out into the night.
Walking back to the flat, she reflected on her strange evening. She had gone to the bar seeking solace, but had found something else instead. She had the strange feeling that her life was changing for ever, moving past her in a way that she could neither prevent nor control. Worse still was the fact that Jake’s happiness made her miserable. She pushed the thought away – it was so unpleasant to feel sad about someone else’s joy and yet there it was. Deny it though she might, the truth was that she had never felt so alone as she did tonight.
31
Blog post by firstpersonsingular.
Wednesday, 9 December, 23.30
More bullshit today. Where do these people get off? With their half-arsed statements and brain-dead journalism. Why does everything have to end up being a fucking soap opera?
Know what I mean?!?☹☹☹☹
She could have written about anything. She could have written about it. But instead she wrote about them. Not many pictures of the fire and even those were blurred. It’s not hard, people…
Lots of pictures of the dad though. And his poor ickle son. So brave. Both of them. Really. I mean it.
They may have suffered, but here’s the thing. At least someone cares. At least their pain registers.
You must know what I mean. And before you dismiss me as just another troll, think about it.
Because it’s not the pain that matters. It’s the context of that pain. Do you follow?
People give a shit. The dad. The son. Even the crispy sister. They’ve lost their momma, their anchor/rock/mainstay (delete as appropriate), but they’ve got each other. In a fucked-up way, they’re closer now than they ever were.
So before you expend all your sympathy on them, think. Do they need it? Do they want it? No, they have everything right there in their tight little family.
They are the lucky ones. I’ve been alone from the moment I was conceived.
32
‘Nice to meet you, Eleanor. I don’t usually accept spur-of-the-moment clients, but just this once I’ll make an exception.’
The international bestseller that "grabs the reader by the throat" (Crime Time).First in the new series featuring Detective Inspector Helen Grace.Two people are abducted, imprisoned, and left with a gun. As hunger and thirst set in, only one walks away alive.It's a game more twisted than any Detective Inspector Helen Grace has ever seen. If she hadn't spoken with the shattered survivors herself, she almost wouldn't believe them.Helen is familiar with the dark sides of human nature, including her own, but this case-with its seemingly random victims-has her baffled.
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 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.
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.
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.
На горнолыжной базе «Джаловчат» в вагоне канатной дороги застряли парень с девушкой. На помощь им примчалась бригада спасателей МЧС – Борис Мостовой, Олег Чистяков и Ольга Синицкая. Вызволить горемычную парочку – дело техники. Но приключения спасателей еще только начинаются… Внезапно в горах происходит обвал, блокирующий единственную дорогу с базы. И в это же время спасатели находят под обрывом автомобиль, а в нем – водителя со смертельным ножевым ранением. Убийца не мог прорваться через завал, а значит, он где-то на базе, среди отдыхающих.
Фармацевтическая фирма «Гелиос» с размахом праздновала день рождения одной из сотрудниц. В самый разгар торжества был найден труп любимой собаки начальника. Подозрительное происшествие совпало с исчезновением хозяина фирмы Бориса Гольдмана, что привлекло внимание милиции. Следователь Тарасов хладнокровно взялся распутать клубок интриг и разоблачить преступный клан. Все его подозрения сходятся на противоречивой фигуре Марты, коммерческого директора «Гелиоса» и по совместительству жены Гольдмана…
В предпраздничный рабочий день — 30 апреля, сотрудники фирмы Эра собираются отмечать Первомай. Однако в разгар торжества в офисе происходит убийство. Классика жанра — под подозрением все!
Одержимому высокой идеей человеку невольно покоряются и чистые сердца, и погрязшие в грехах души — этой идеей Ги де Кара обязательно увлечётся читатель романа «Храм ненависти». Он интересен и любителю психологического романа, и поклоннику детектива.
В книге рассказывается история главного героя, который сталкивается с различными проблемами и препятствиями на протяжении всего своего путешествия. По пути он встречает множество второстепенных персонажей, которые играют важные роли в истории. Благодаря опыту главного героя книга исследует такие темы, как любовь, потеря, надежда и стойкость. По мере того, как главный герой преодолевает свои трудности, он усваивает ценные уроки жизни и растет как личность.
«Золотая пуля». Так называют в городе агентство, в котором работают журналисты-инвестигейторы (или, в переводе на русский — «расследователи»). Возглавляет это вымышленное агентство Андрей Обнорский — герой романов Андрея Константинова и снятого по этим романам телесериала «Бандитский Петербург». В «Золотой пуле»-3 вы встретитесь не только с Обнорским, но и с его соратниками-журналистами: Николаем Повзло, Зурабом Гвичия, Светланой Завгородней, Нонной Железняк, Георгием Зудинцевым и другими. Все они попадают порой в опасные, а порой и комичные ситуации.