The single row of paving stones leading to the front door has been kept clean of winter slime. The patch of brown lawn is short. The bins stand to attention on one side of the door. Just behind the still-white net curtains, Maggie can see a row of china ornaments: female figures, in period costum...
Typing ‘unidentified’ into the search facility soon reduced the 415 cases down to just thirty-five. Thirty-five people who’d been pulled from the river in the last five years remained unidentified. She only needed the women. She ran another search and the thirty-five reduced to fourteen.But God, ...
There is just a gleam on the sand to remind me that it was ever here at all and a flickering of light, a movement on the horizon, to suggest that it might come back again. The beach it left behind is wide and gently curving, surrounded by low cliffs. A necklace of driftwood lies inches out of rea...
Portraits of illustrious personages hang on the walls, but the eyes of the guests tonight are drawn to the four people on the receiving line. The tall, dark-haired PM and his elegant wife, a slender, darkskinned man who is generally acknowledged to be the most powerful man in the world, and the w...
For a second, I thought it was a gesture of surrender.‘Police. Put your weapon down immediately, sir.’ She was holding out her ID. Slowly, I dug my hand into my jacket pocket, found my hospital ID and brought it out. I held it up, confident that Jogging Pants would never be able to make out the d...
The last thing she needed right now was to get into a scuffle with a kid around deep water. It was the right call. Barney, after a last glance at the hatch of the boat, began making his way towards her. Once off the yellow boat he moved quickly, as though eager to reach her. She almost told him t...
‘Dana keeps the spare room made up in case the two of us have a row.’ I looked up and tried to smile. Helen’s long blonde hair was plaited behind her head. It made her look younger. ‘I’ll stay with her,’ said Joesbury from the doorway. He’d spoken to Helen, but then dropped his eyes to me. ‘If yo...