Split Second - [13]
She got to her feet and the floor pitched, her head swam; she used the furniture to balance until the vertigo eased. They should get back to the hospital. She went to wake Ruby and put some bread in the toaster. The smell made her mouth flood with saliva and she thought she’d retch, but she breathed carefully, resisting the impulse. She buttered a slice for herself; she had to eat something. She’d be no use to anyone half starved.
Andrew
They lay on the twin beds, which were pushed together in the guest room. Almost as large as the master bedroom, it had been Colin’s room when they were kids. Andrew, as the youngest, had the box room next to Colin’s.
In the intervening years it had been repapered and spruced up, the old sash windows replaced, a new carpet fitted. A few remnants of childhood stood on the alcove shelves, amusement for visiting grandchildren: dominoes and a game of Mousetrap, a set of Russian stacking dolls (who on earth had bought them?) and a box of Dinky cars and tanks and lorries.
The curtains were drawn, the radiator ticking. The room was airless, hot and stuffy. Andrew could smell food cooking downstairs. They lay on top of the covers, like spoons, her back to him, his arm across her side, holding her wrist.
‘The other boy’s been in surgery,’ Val said. ‘Head injury.’
‘Oh God!’ Andrew felt a gout of shame; he hadn’t thought to ask the police about him – presumably that was how Val knew.
‘He’s still unconscious so he’s not been able to tell them anything. It’s a miracle he survived, the way they-’ She broke off.
Andrew exhaled. ‘You don’t have to.’
‘It’s important I remember,’ she carried on, withdrawing her arm. ‘I heard shouting. I went to the window first; I could see there were people, but not what was going on, not clearly. I think I knew it was a fight. I went to the front door. It was all so quick. One of them was on the ground and the others were kicking him.’ Her voice shook. ‘They were all doing it, even the girl.’
Andrew gave a ragged sigh.
‘And Jason was coming in the gate, he was shouting, he was frantic. I just wanted him to come inside, to get away. That awful feeling, you know, when you see that sort of violence, like we’re animals, just animals. All the instincts kicking in. I was so scared, I was shouting, there was so much noise. Then he pulled one of them off, the biggest one, grabbed at his shoulders. The boy just pushed him over.’
Andrew felt his own limbs rigid with apprehension.
‘Jason grabbed the lantern stand; you know the cast-iron one near the snowberry bush. He went for the same boy, hit his back; that’s when I ran in for the phone. Went upstairs to get you. I never saw a knife. Oh God,’ she wept, and Andrew felt the tremors deep in his own belly. He smelt her hair, faint traces of shampoo and a hint of the perfume she always wore.
‘He was so brave,’ she said, her voice clotted with tears. ‘Why did he have to be so bloody brave?’
Andrew was running, sliding, skittering, ice underfoot. He woke sweaty, breathless, after the dream. The shapes of it dissolving, drifting as he tried to clutch at them. The story of it lost, but a sour, squalid residue in the pit of his stomach.
Jason! For a moment, a delicious, delirious moment, he willed that the loss of Jason was a dream too, that any time now he would open his eyes for a second time to his own bedroom and the sound of his son crossing the landing and all the bright possibilities, the glorious mundanities of a normal day. But the hope shrivelled, the edges of the picture flaring and charred. Ashes and blood.
He felt overloaded; the weight was crushing him, compacting his bones and the marrow within, compressing his vital organs, lungs, liver, heart.
Val was there, and the family liaison officer, Martine. Andrew’s mother offered toast and tea. Tea, he agreed, and pulled out a chair. Val had a pad of paper in front of her, a laptop open.
‘How are you?’ his mother asked.
Andrew shrugged, rubbed at his face. He hadn’t shaved, hadn’t washed.
Martine explained apologetically that the investigating team needed statements from them both. She knew it was a terrible time, but it was crucial to do it as soon after the incident as possible. She could take them to the station and bring them back. Was that okay?
Outside the station, Andrew was appalled to see Jason’s photo, the one from YouTube, and the word MURDER in dense black capitals. He wanted to run, to scuttle off and burrow somewhere. He squeezed Val’s hand. The place was deserted. Martine pressed an intercom and gave her name to gain entrance, and then they all waited by the empty front desk until someone appeared. Andrew sat and watched the screen fixed high on the wall as it switched between views of the car park, which must be behind the building, the outside approach to the main entrance and the reception area itself. Showing them on the camera: Val, preoccupied, quiet, one hand supporting her head, eyes half closed; Martine, smart and trim and alert; and himself, unfamiliar, nondescript. A bloke, just some bloke.
"A painfully honest exploration of an ordinary family under stress… A stunning piece of work." – Ann CleevesFour bystanders in the wrong place at the wrong time. Witnesses to the shocking shooting of a teenage boy. A moment that changes their lives forever. Fiona, a midwife, is plagued by panic attacks and unable to work. Has she the strength to testify? Mike, a delivery driver and family man, faces an impossible decision when his frightened wife forces him to choose – us or the court case. Cheryl, a single-mother, doesn't want her child to grow up in the same climate of fear.
Blue Murder: Make BelieveThe third Blue Murder novel written by the creator of the hit ITV police drama starring Caroline Quentin as DCI Janine Lewis.For nine days the people of Manchester have been looking for missing three-year-old Sammy Wray then DCI Janine Lewis is called to a residential street where a child's body has been found. It's a harrowing investigation and Janine's personal problems make leading the inquiry even tougher. Is this the case that will break her?Praise for the Blue Murder books'Complex and satisfying in its handling of Lewis's agonised attempts to be both a good cop and a good mother.'The Sunday Times'Uncluttered and finely detailed prose.'Birmingham Post'Beautifully realised little snapshots of the different characters' lives… Compelling stuff.'Sherlock Magazine'A swift, satisfying read.'City Life'Precise and detailed delineation of contemporary family relationships.'Tangled Web'Lewis seems set to become another very popular string to Staincliffe's bow as one of the leading English murder writers.'Manchester Metro'Pace and plenty of human interest.'Publishing News'Blending the warmth of family life with the demands of a police investigation.'Manchester Evening News'Juggling work and family is a challenge of modern life and encountering realistically portrayed women with family responsibilities is a pleasure.
She's a single parent. A private eye. And liking it. Until, that is, Mrs Hobbs turns up asking Sal Kilkenny to find her missing son. Sal's search takes her through the Manchester underworld, a world of deprivation and petty theft, of well-heeled organised crime and ultimately, murder. Would she have taken the job on if she had known what she was getting into? Probably, because Sal is fired with the desire to see justice done, to avenge the death of a young lad whose only crime was knowing too much.The first Sal Kilkenny Mystery, short-listed for the Crime Writers' Association best first novel award and serialised on BBC Radio 4, Woman's Hour.
From the author of LOOKING FOR TROUBLE, a further crime novel featuring private investigator Sal Kilkenny. When a man is distraught at his wife's apparent infidelity, he enlists the help of Sal to confirm his suspicions, only to find himself a widower soon afterwards. From there Sal's other case also begins to take a disturbing and violent turn.
A daughter's deathA teenage girl is found brutally murdered in her squalid flat.A mother's loveHer mother is devastated. She gave her child up to the care system, only to lose her again, and is convinced that the low-life boyfriend is to blame.Two ordinary women, one extraordinary jobDC Rachel Bailey has dragged herself up from a deprived childhood and joined the Manchester Police. Rachel's boss thinks her new recruit has bags of raw talent but straight-laced DC Janet Scott, her reluctant partner, has her doubts.Together Scott and Bailey must hunt a killer, but a life fighting crime can be no life at all…
The fourth Blue Murder novel written by the creator of the hit ITV police drama starring Caroline Quentin as DCI Janine Lewis.A well-respected family GP is found shot dead outside his surgery; who could possibly want to kill him? As DCI Janine Lewis and her team investigate they uncover stories of loyalty, love, deception, betrayal and revenge.Praise for the Blue Murder books'Complex and satisfying in its handling of Lewis's agonised attempts to be both a good cop and a good mother.' The Sunday Times'Uncluttered and finely detailed prose.' Birmingham Post'Beautifully realised little snapshots of the different characters' lives… Compelling stuff.' Sherlock Magazine'A swift, satisfying read.' City Life'Precise and detailed delineation of contemporary family relationships.' Tangled Web'Lewis seems set to become another very popular string to Staincliffe's bow as one of the leading English murder writers.' Manchester Metro'Pace and plenty of human interest.' Publishing News'Blending the warmth of family life with the demands of a police investigation.'Manchester Evening News'Juggling work and family is a challenge of modern life and encountering realistically portrayed women with family responsibilities is a pleasure.
Действие романа сибирского писателя Владимира Двоеглазова относится к середине семидесятых годов и происходит в небольшом сибирском городке. Сотрудники райотдела милиции расследуют дело о краже пушнины. На передний план писатель выдвигает психологическую драму, судьбу человека.Автора волнуют вопросы этики, права, соблюдения законности.
From the international bestselling author, Hans Olav Lahlum, comes Chameleon People, the fourth murder mystery in the K2 and Patricia series.1972. On a cold March morning the weekend peace is broken when a frantic young cyclist rings on Inspector Kolbjorn 'K2' Kristiansen's doorbell, desperate to speak to the detective.Compelled to help, K2 lets the boy inside, only to discover that he is being pursued by K2's colleagues in the Oslo police. A bloody knife is quickly found in the young man's pocket: a knife that matches the stab wounds of a politician murdered just a few streets away.The evidence seems clear-cut, and the arrest couldn't be easier.
A handsome young New York professor comes to Phoenix to research his new book. But when he's brutally murdered, police connect him to one of the world's most deadly drug cartels. This shouldn't be a case for historian-turned-deputy David Mapstone – except the victim has been dating David's sister-in-law Robin and now she's a target, too. David's wife Lindsey is in Washington with an elite anti-cyber terror unit and she makes one demand of him: protect Robin.This won't be an easy job with the city police suspicious of Robin and trying to pressure her.
Частный детектив Андрей Шальнев оказывается вовлеченным в сложную интригу: ему нужно выполнить заказ криминального авторитета Искандера - найти Зубра, лидера конкурирующей группировки. Выполняя его поручение, Андрей неожиданно встречает свою старую знакомую - капитана ФСБ Кристину Гирю, участвующую под прикрытием в спецоперации по ликвидации обеих банд.
From the creator of the groundbreaking crime-fiction magazine THUGLIT comes…DIRTY WORDS.The first collection from award-winning short story writer, Todd Robinson.Featuring:SO LONG JOHNNIE SCUMBAG – selected for The Year's Best Writing 2003 by Writer's Digest.The Derringer Award nominated short, ROSES AT HIS FEET.THE LONG COUNT – selected as a Notable Story of the Year in Best American Mystery Stories 2005.PLUS eight more tales of in-your-face crime fiction.
Lori Maddox chooses to spend the year after university travelling and visits China where she finds casual work as a private English tutor. Back in Manchester, her parents Joanna and Tom, who separated when Lori was a toddler, follow her adventures on her blog. When Joanna and Tom hear nothing for weeks they become increasingly concerned, travelling out to Chengdu in search of their daughter. Landing in a totally unfamiliar country, Joanna and Tom are forced to turn detective, following in their daughter's footsteps.