Secret of the Dead (41 page)
“Yes. And it’s especially good for Mr and Mrs Hall, and for Jessica. They can finally have closure after all this time.”
Their conversation was interrupted by a shout of “Mike’s here,” from Grace.
Hunter looked towards the door. Mike Sampson was being helped through by Tony Bullars. He stepped in gingerly, his right arm clamped to his side, shielding the area where he had been stabbed. Mike raised his free hand in a gesture of thanks and then headed off towards his team mates, Grace and Barry, who were in the process of dragging seats around a table. Tony followed behind like his minder.
Detective Superintendent Leggate spoke into Hunter’s ear. “I’ll get their drinks. I’ll bring them over.”
Hunter acknowledged her with a nod and then edged his way to his crew.
He slid the drinks onto the table, pushed a pint towards Barry and handed Grace a white wine. “The gaffer’s treating you two,” he said to Mike and Tony. Mike seemed be having difficulty getting himself settled in his seat. He turned to him, “I’ve told her to get you an orange, you’re on antibiotics.”
Mike wagged a finger at him and they all chuckled.
Hunter raised his glass, said “Cheers,” and took in a good mouthful of Timothy Taylor beer.
“Cheers,” came the reply.
Wiping his mouth with the edge of his hand Hunter focused on Mike again. “I came to see you the other night.”
“Oh, yeah? I can’t remember. Was I sedated?”
“No, you were otherwise engaged.” From the look on Mike’s face, Hunter knew he’d made the connection. He took another sip of his beer.
A moment of silence ensued, until Grace piped up “What’s this then?”
Hunter nodded at Mike, “Are you going to tell them, or do I let the cat out of the bag?”
Sheepishly he replied, “You mean me and Janet Dobson.”
Grace’s jaw dropped. “You mean Janet Dobson, as in Chief Inspector Janet Dobson?”
He affirmed with a quick dip of his head, his face coloured.
“Well you’ve kept that a bloody secret. When was this?” Grace asked.
“Just over a year.”
“And you’ve kept it to yourself all this time?”
“We wanted to keep it to ourselves for a while longer.” He added, “I’ve no bloody chance of that now, have I?”
Everyone laughed.
“How did this come about then?” asked Barry.
“I knew her husband. I used to go match-fishing with him. He collapsed and died of a heart attack three years ago while we were out fishing. Nothing I could do to help him. I helped her get through things, and then I used to go round and keep her company and we just hit it off.”
With a sardonic grin Barry added, “You ought to be ashamed of yourself, taking advantage of a vulnerable widow.”
Grace gave Barry a friendly punch to the arm. “You leave him alone. I think it’s wonderful.” She raised her glass. “I hope you’ll be very happy.”
Hunter flopped back against his high-backed seat. The warm atmosphere, the relaxing effects of the beer and lack of sleep over the past few weeks had all taken their toll.
As his team’s banter drifted into the background, he was thinking about home.
He finished his beer and checked the time, reaching into his pocket for his car keys. He’d spend a couple of hours with Beth and the boys, have a warm bath and then he’d collapse in his bed.
It was always the same at the end of an investigation.
-ooOoo -
24
th
December.
Stepping through the last security door into the visiting room of Wakefield Prison, Daniel Weaver unclenched his fists and stuck his hands into his jeans pockets. He paused for a second to check out the room, thinking that he’d never viewed it before from this angle.
The view was much better from this side, he decided.
Then he caught sight of the prisoner he had come to visit. He picked up his step again, passed a couple of tables where felons were engaged in conversations with their loved ones and then plonked himself down on a seat opposite the man.
He never took his eyes from him.
“It’s you,” Peter Blake-Hall said. “I wondered who the fucking smart-arse was who’d given my father’s name on the visiting sheet.”
“Nice little touch, don’t you think?” Daniel studied Peter’s face for a second and then said, “It’s about him I’m here.”
“What the fuck do you mean? What the bloody hell have you got to do with my father?”
“He died here you know, Peter.”
“Yes, I fucking do know he died here. Some cunt slit his throat.”
“But they never found out who’d done that, did they Peter?”
Daniel watched Peter’s expression change,.
Daniel pushed himself up. “Well I won’t say it’s been nice visiting you. And before I go, I want to leave you with something. During my time here, all twenty-five years of it, I made a lot of friends, good friends, and each of them know how you stitched me up.” He let his last sentence trail off, and then added, “Oh, and before I go I just want you to know I only have to give the word and I’ll have the best Christmas present ever.”
The flash of panic in Peter Blake-Hall’s eyes brought a smile of satisfaction to Daniel’s face as he straightened his back and turned towards the exit.
- ooOoo -
Heart of the Demon
Detective Sergeant Hunter Kerr and his partner DC Grace Marshall are called to the scene of a brutal slaying; the victim is a 14 year-old girl.
The killer has been disturbed but he has left behind a puzzle. What is the significance of the marks gouged into the girl’s torso and why has a playing card been left with the cadaver?
As Barnwell Major Investigation Team struggle to resolve the mystery they are confronted with another gruesome discovery; the mummified remains of a teenage girl are unearthed from the slurry of a former colliery site. This corpse bears all the hallmarks of the first slaying and yet this body has been buried for well over a decade.
They soon realise that a savage killer is stalking Yorkshire, preying on young girls, and with the discovery of the bodies comes a series of revelations about the past.
For Detective Sergeant Hunter Kerr and his team the race against time to prevent further murders is complicated by the fact that several of his men have been involved on the periphery of earlier crimes, without even knowing it. And as the death toll mounts as more bodies are unearthed and new victims succumb to the murderer’s sick appetites, he finds that this case comes very close to home.
Very close indeed...
ISBN: 978-1-907565-26-7
Cold Death
Taking a well-earned break from the ‘Dearne Valley Demon’ case, Detective Sergeant Hunter Kerr’s rest is suddenly shattered when he witnesses a violent argument involving his father, shortly followed by a murderous road-rage attack upon his parents.
As he delves deeper, Hunter uncovers disturbing facts and suspects that his father is harbouring a sinister secret from his past; a secret, which he is desperate to keep buried.
In his father’s native Scotland a sadistic and violent killer is on the rampage. Three retired detectives are found tortured and butchered. Is there a link? Or, is it someone who just likes killing cops?
Hunter pushes and pushes to learn the truth, never realising just how much danger he was placing himself, and those around him, in.
In Barnwell, Hunter’s working partner, DC Grace Marshall, recovering from her own psychological problems arising out of the ‘Demon’ serial-killer investigation, is ‘acting sergeant’ in his absence and soon finds herself in charge of her first major incident; a young woman’s battered body is dragged from the freezing waters of the local country park.
ISBN: 978-1-907565-28-1
Michael was born and grew up in the once industrial heartland of South Yorkshire and still lives there with his wife and two sons.
He served as a police officer for thirty-two years, both in uniform and in plain clothes, working in CID, Vice Squad and Drug Squad, and retired as an Inspector in charge of a busy CID Department in 2006.
Aside from writing, his other passion is painting and as a professional artist he has achieved numerous accolades. His work can be found in numerous galleries throughout the UK.
He is a member of the Crime Writers Association.
Michael can be contacted via his website at: www.mjfowler.co.uk
We hope you enjoyed reading Secrets of the Dead and would be thrilled if you would post a book review for it online.
If you would like to know more about Caffeine Nights books and authors sign up for our newsletter from the following link.
More Information can also be found at:
