1911021494 (26 page)
Authors: Michael Hambling
Wednesday
Billy Thompson had deteriorated badly since Sophie’s last visit. His face was like a wax mask. His breath came in short, shallow gasps. His eyes were shut, but Sophie saw a slight flicker as she sat down. She took his hand.
‘Hello again, Billy.’
He made a sound, but she couldn’t understand it. His other hand pointed weakly towards the water jug on the bedside table. She poured some into a tumbler and held it up to his lips. He swallowed some of it, but most dribbled down his chin onto the coverlet. Nevertheless, he must have taken in enough to refresh him slightly, because one eye opened weakly, then the other.
‘Got him then,’ he gasped.
‘We arrested Charlie Duff last week, yes.’
Thompson laughed, a broken cackle that left him gasping for breath.
‘No. Before that.’
‘What do you mean?’
He breathed out the words almost one at a time. ‘Before you arrested him. Heard he suffered. Serves the fucker right.’
‘Nothing to do with me, Billy. We only arrived after. But he’s not too bad. He’s recovering quite well in hospital. The surgeon thinks he can save a little movement in each hand, enough for him to cope with a spoon or fork. Which is all he’ll need, anyway, once he’s in prison for the rest of his life.’ She looked into his eyes. There was still a slight glimmer there. ‘I met your niece, Jennie. I like her. She feels things deeply, Billy, just like me. We may not always show it, but we do.’
‘Will you do me a favour?’
‘If I can, Billy.’
‘Andy’s funeral is tomorrow. I don’t want Jennie there by herself. I’d go, but . . .’ He waved weakly. He tried to raise himself but gave up, falling back onto his pillow with a gasp. ‘Will you go? Please?’
‘Of course. I’d already planned to. We’ve become good friends, you know.’ She smiled. ‘She’s coming up this way again next week to visit some of her mother’s family. You need to know, though, that the people she’ll always love most will be her adoptive parents. She’s adamant about that. They gave her the life she has now.’
‘That’s how it should be. But I’ll never forget what you did, finding what happened to Andy,’ he wheezed. ‘I never told anyone what you said. Never will. Fuck. What an end to it all. Little Miss Prim. Hah.’
He collapsed back onto his pillow, coughing weakly.
‘I’ve got rid of all those feelings I told you about, Billy. I think I’m at peace with myself now. But I came close to losing my sanity over it. You’re a good listener.’
‘What else can I be, lying here, dying?’ He coughed again. ‘At peace? You? Hah. Don’t believe it.’
‘Bye, Billy. Bless you.’
* * *
On her return to Dorset, Sophie called at the safe house where Nadia and her mother were packing their few belongings. Sorina was there too, along with Catalina. They had both been discharged from hospital.
The four women were due to fly back to Romania early the next morning, although they would be returning later in the month to help prepare evidence for the trial.
Nadia poured her a cup of tea. She presented Sophie with a bouquet of flowers.
‘Is not enough,’ she said. ‘I wish to give you much, much more. But I cannot. I cannot say how I feel. My heart is full for you. The flowers are from all of us.’
‘They’re lovely. Thank you, all of you. Nadia, there will always be a place in my heart for you. Do you promise to write? Jade is expecting you to.’
‘Yes. I send photos from my home. Sorina and I, we come to visit, if you will have us?’
‘Of course. Write to Jade and she will let me know. She’d love to see you both.’
‘She will take us clubbing? She said so.’
‘Why doesn’t that surprise me?’
Sophie Allen sat on a bench under a tree, looking across to the bedraggled flower beds that surrounded the crematorium. It was late afternoon and the weak February sun was about to slip below the horizon. She pulled the collar of her coat up and snuggled deeper into its warm lining. The woman with the dark ponytail approached, carrying a small package that contained her birth father’s ashes. Sophie moved aside to give the younger woman room to sit down. They linked arms and spoke for several minutes. Then they stood up. They hugged briefly and then these two women, the daughters, both deeply scarred by their recent discoveries, went their separate ways.
THE END
ORDER THE FIRST DCI SOPHIE ALLEN BOOK NOW!
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A young woman’s body is discovered on a deserted footpath in a Dorset seaside town late on a cold November night. She has been stabbed through the heart.
It seems like a simple crime for DCI Sophie Allen and her team to solve. But not when the victim’s mother is found strangled the next morning. The case grows more complex as DCI Sophie Allen discovers that the victims had secret histories, involving violence and intimidation. There’s an obvious suspect but Detective Allen isn't convinced. Could someone else be lurking in the shadows, someone savagely violent, looking for a warped revenge?
Glossary of English terms for US readers
ACC:
assistant chief constable
Asian:
someone who (or whose ancestors) originates from India, Pakistan or Bangladesh
Beaker:
glass or cup for holding liquids
Bladdered:
drunk
Bob:
money
Bod:
person
Boffin:
smart person, scientist
Boot:
trunk, as in car trunk
Bother:
as in bother, means in trouble
Charity Shop:
thrift store
Caravan:
camper or small motorhome
Carrier bag:
plastic bag from supermarket
Care Home:
an institution where old people are cared for
Chat-up:
flirt, trying to pick up someone with witty banter or compliments
Chinwag:
conversation
Ciggy:
cigarette
Comprehensive School (Comp.):
High school
Copper:
police officer (slang)
Cotton wool:
raw cotton
Childminder:
someone who looks after children for money
CID:
Criminal Investigation Department
Coach:
a bus, often used for travel, holidays or trips
Cos:
because
CPS:
Crown Prosecution Service, body which decides whether cases go to criminal court
Council
: local government
Deck:
one of the landings on a floor of a tower block
Diary:
appointment book
Div:
idiot (offensive)
Dodgy:
not to be trusted, illegal
Dosh:
money
Double glazing:
insulated windows with two layers of glass
DC:
detective constable
DI:
detective inspector
DS:
detective sergeant
ED:
accident and emergency department of hospital
Estate:
/files/16/20/86/f162086/public/social housing estate (similar to housing projects)
Estate agent:
realtor (US)
Fag:
cigarette
Fancy:
find attractive
FE:
further education college
Freshers:
Students in their first term/year at university
Garden Centre:
a business where plants and gardening equipment are sold
Gas people:
company selling consumers gas for heating and hot water
Gobsmacked:
surprised
Get off:
make out
GP:
general practitioner, a doctor based in the community
Gran:
grandmother
Guest house:
a private house offering rooms to paying guests (in the days before Airbnb!)
Hard nut:
tough guy
Hatchback:
a car with an upwards-opening door across full width of back
Home:
care home for elderly or sick people
Home Office:
UK government department in charge of domestic affairs
Inne:
isn’t he
Into care:
a child taken away from their family by the social services
Jobcentre:
unemployment office
Jumper:
sweater
Kosher:
genuine or legal
Lad:
young man
Lamped:
hit
Lay-by:
an area off a road where cars can pull in and stop
Lift:
as in give a lift, drive someone somewhere
Loo:
toilet
Lounge:
living room
Lorry:
a truck
Mobile phone:
cell phone
Net curtains:
a type of semi-transparent curtain
Newsagents:
shop selling newspapers, confectionery, cigarettes etc.
NHS:
National Health Service, public health service of UK
Nick:
police station (as verb: to arrest)
Nowt:
nothing
Nutter:
insane person
Nursery:
a place which grows plants, shrubs and trees for sale (often wholesale)
OCD:
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
OS:
Ordnance Survey, detailed map
Overalls:
dungarees
Paki:
(racist) short for Pakistani, may be applied to any Asian
Pants:
underwear
PC:
police constable
PM
: post-mortem
Petrol
: gasoline
Petrol station:
gas station
Piss off:
as exclamation, go away (rude). Also can mean annoy.
Planning Department
: the local authority department which issues licences to build and develop property
Plod:
policeman
Posh:
upper class
Punter:
client of prostitute / can also mean gambler
Randy:
horny
Ready meal:
prepared food which only needs to be reheated
Rock:
a sugary candy often on sale at the seaside
Semi:
semi-detached house, house with another house joined to it on one side only
Skinful:
enough alcohol to make you drunk
Skip:
a large container for building rubbish
Services:
Shops and gas station by highway
Sixth-former:
student in the final two years of high school (16-18 years old)
Sod:
an annoying person
Sod it:
expression meaning you’ve decided not to give a damn
Solicitor:
lawyer
Squaddies
: soldiers
Tea:
dinner (Northern English)
Till:
cash register
Tipsy
: a bit drunk
Toerag:
loser
(insulting)
Ton:
a hundred pounds
Torch:
flashlight
Tutor:
university teacher
Tower block:
tall building containing apartments (usually social housing)
Two-up two-down:
house with two bedrooms upstairs, and two rooms downstairs
Uni:
university/college
Uniform:
a police officer wearing a uniform, usually a police constable
Van:
a vehicle for carrying goods
Warrant card:
police ID in the UK
Young offender:
criminal between 14-17 years of age
